Agriculture and fisheries in the Bahamas

[5] Most arable land is on New Providence, Abaco, Andros, and Grand Bahama islands; challenges for Bahamian agriculture include limited fresh water resources for irrigation, the difficulties of inter-island transport of goods in the archipelago, a lack of human capital, the country's small size (which makes it vulnerable to economic shocks), and agrochemical contamination risks.

[6] Climate change is another key agricultural and fisheries challenge due to the negative effects of more intensive severe weather events and rising ocean temperatures;[7] as a flat and small island developing state, the Bahamas is particularly vulnerable.

[10] Storr argues that much of the Bahamas' economic history since 1492 has been influenced by illegal or extra-legal activities, such as piracy and privateering; wrecking; blockade-running during the American Civil War; rum-running to the United States during Prohibition era; and the modern-day drug trade.

[11] In the early years of the Bahamians' European settlement (in the 17th century, during the lords proprietors period), ambergris was significant economically;[12] however, it was later supplanted by spermaceti oil.

[23] A brief boom in cotton production in the southern Bahamas from 1785 to 1788 was followed by a collapse attributable to poor soil, hurricanes, and insect pests (specifically the chenille bug).

[33] The Bahamas pineapple industry declined for several reasons, including the American acquisition of Hawaii and the 1897 McKinley Tariff,[34] soil exhaustion and plant disease on Abaco and northern Eleuthera, and overproduction.

[54] Sisal, an agave that was commercially useful as a hard fiber,[55] reached the Bahamas from Mexico and the Florida Peninsula and Keys,[56] and was apparently first introduced by the colonial secretary C.R.

[57][58] Aided by the Colonial Office and the Kew Gardens in London,[59] both hemp and sisal production was aggressively promoted by Sir Ambrose Shea during his tenure as governor of the Bahamas from 1887 to 1894.

[60][61] Like the sponge industry, sisal cultivation was marked by exploitation, including worker debt to owners and frequent payment in tokens redeemable at company stores rather than cash.

Conversely, some privileged corporate and individual investors received lands on highly generous terms, including Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain, who managed a 20,000-acre estate on Andros.

[73] The availability of farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture, and community gardens has been suggested as a measure that could positively affect Bahamian rural development and food security.

[75] Repeated efforts by Bahamian government and industry to achieve a greater degree of food self-sufficiency or to boost the commercial agriculture sector have historically been unsuccessful.

[79] In a 2018 policy analysis making use of producer support estimates, the Inter-American Development Bank recommended eight steps to the Bahamian government to foster a more efficient, internationally competitive agriculture and fisheries sectors in the country.

The IADB recommended reducing government involvement to avoiding crowding out private investment and cutting excessive regulation; strengthening the efficiency of agricultural policy; evaluating pest and disease control services (such as inspection, extension, and best-practices education); reducing trade barriers and creating long-term plans for agricultural roads, harbors, irrigation, and post-harvest infrastructure; modernizing and enhancing the collection of agricultural statistics; improving farmers' access to timely market information; taking steps to improve the sectors' profitability and productivity (with the goal of fostering "a possibly small but efficient agricultural sector" to "exploit some specific competitive advantages in a few niche subsectors") and reducing government market price support to fisheries.

[81] Among non-fish agricultural exports of the Bahamas, 43% are corals, mollusk shells, and crustaceans; 28% are beverages, spirits, and tobacco; 10% are "other animal products unfit for human consumption"; 9% are vegetables, and 6% are oilseeds.

[103][104] Other fisheries in the Bahamas targeted for commercial and subsistence fishing include queen conch (Strombus gigas), groupers (Epinephelidae), and snapper (Lutjanidae),[105][106][107] as well as grunts (Haemulidae) and jacks (Carangidae).

[108] The queen conch is important to Bahamian food culture[109][110] and is the Bahamas' second-largest fishery,[111] although exports to the United States amount to a modest $1–2 million per year.

[116] Queen conch stocks are more abundant and older (as indicated by larger shell size, specifically lip thickness) at Cay Sal Bank, a remote site inaccessible to most fishermen, suggesting that it is a potential natural refuge.

The emerging fisheries have the potential to boost the country's economic and enhance food security, but also present fisheries-management challenge due to a lack of data and the risks of overfishing and poor conservation.