The 2008 Agricultural Digest - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural ...

OVERVIEW OF THEAGRICULTURAL SECTOR 2008During 2008, the agricultural sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product was 2.8 percent 1 .The Ministry of Agriculture had anticipated an improved performance from over the previous year.It was expected that the farming community would have intensified its production efforts in order tocapitalise on the persistent trend of rising agricultural prices in the domestic market. Instead, the first halfof the year saw the sector being severely hampered by the root causes which were associated withglobal price increases of key agricultural commodities namely oil, fuel and corn. The increase in oiland fuel prices directly impacted some of the larger-scaled farming operations in Barbados which areenergy intensive. The increased price of corn, which is a major input in the production of livestock feed,resulted in a hike in the cost of producing local meats.Demand for agricultural produce on Barbados during the reviewperiod, suffered some fall-off on the demand for locally producedcommodities. Consumers seemed to be more vigilant oftheir reduced purchasing power in the face of economy-widerising prices. The reduced demand for local agricultural produce,coupled with the increased cost of production of all domesticagricultural endeavours in Barbados, consequently resultedin the departure of some of the smaller farmers from theirrespective industries as they were unable to remain competitive.Throughout the latter part of 2008 the international pricesof fuel, oil and corn had changed their trajectory and hadregistered consistent declines. However, the pass-througheffect of these changes on domestic prices was notrevealed in Barbados. This was especially evident forlocally produced fresh meats, as the price of livestock feedremained relatively high. Additionally, a significant reductionin the prices of goods which were heavily imported into the countrywas not realised. Moreover, the reverse price trends for oil, fueland corn did not result in a rebound in agricultural activityduring the latter half of the review period to counteract the productiondeclines of the earlier part of 2008.Adverse weather conditions during the latter part of theyear also contributed greatly to the short-falls in agriculturalproduction which was recorded for the year. Heavy rainfall,especially during the months of August and Septemberresulted in some crop farmers being unable to harvest theirproduce, leading to significant crop losses. On the otherhand, it was reported that during the periods of intenseheat the livestock sector, and particularly poultry whichare very sensitive to changes in climatic conditions, wereseverely impacted. The Ministry also observed a significantreduction in agricultural activity in traditional agriculturalareas such as Marchfield, Haggatt Hall, Kirtons andHeddings. On the other hand, Fairview a generally active arealocated in one of the BADMC irrigated districts, did not registerany agricultural activity at all. It can therefore be seen that acombination of the volatility of the international prices of oil, fueland corn, low production activity, and adverse weather patternsespecially in the latter part of 2008, all contributed to adecline in the total national agricultural production for thereview period.However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developmentacknowledges some positive aspects of production duringthe review period. This includes the significant increase in fishlandings in Barbados over the previous year’s catch, as well as therebounding of the local mutton and veal industries which alsoregistered significant output increases.1.Current GDP at Factor CostVolume 1Agricultural Digest | 20083