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Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir on Friday backed the proposed change of use of farmland under active cultivation to residential development.
He declared that arable land being repurposed for housing development would not significantly affect agriculture.
Weir told Barbados TODAY in an interview that his ministry usually consulted with the Planning and Development Department (formerly known as Town and Country Planning) before a decision was made on applications.
He was speaking in light of Bannatyne, Christ Church residents protesting an application for a nearby housing project at Newton Plantation, which would see 12.2 acres of land being subdivided into 58 residential lots.
Earlier this week, residents complained that the area where the housing development has been earmarked was cultivated in sugar cane.
They argued that taking the lands out of production would negatively impact the island’s sustainable development and increase its reliance on imported produce. They also said they were concerned that the area was also part of a watercourse and questioned the impact of the housing project on the nearby historic Newton slave burial ground.
President of the Barbados Agricultural Society James Paul also sided with the residents who filed objection letters about the proposed development. Additionally, he raised concerns about land at Drax Hall Plantation in St George being used for government housing.
Weir said that after careful consideration and analysis, permission was granted only if the island’s food security was not at risk.
“Barbados has a mixed approach with housing and agriculture and you have to have that synergy. If land is being used to do further housing development, it wouldn’t necessarily hurt agriculture. We usually give our opinion before town planning permission is given. If it is a case where we objected, town planning would hardly give permission. But if there is a case where there is already a precedent, we tend to support it because it is already a precedent,” he said.
The agriculture minister also contended that “agriculture cannot always rely on open field farming”.
“And that is the reason why we have taken the approach to go to green housing as well, and we are taking the approach to go toward hydroponic farms; so there has to be a mix of approaches to agriculture,” Weir said. “If we try in Barbados to continue doing agriculture on [the] open field, you are going to continue seeing lands in cow itch and bush because people have difficulty accessing water and you have a lot of people that simply don’t want the hard work associated with it. That is a hardcore reality.”
The proposed housing development at Newton is still going through the planning process and a decision is yet to be made.
