The Crop Strategy is a national policy with a sectoral approach. The timeframe of the Strategy is 5 years between 2016 and 2021. The goal of the Crop Strategy is to increase local food production by 2021 by a. preserving and enhancing the agriculture land base, b. developing sector capacity, c. encouraging innovation and smart farming, d. reducing risk and cost of production as well as loss or damage of product, e. fostering agriculture friendly regulations, f. promoting local production, g. raising awareness and education, and h. promoting industry advocacy and coordination. The improvement of Bermuda’s food and nutritional security will be enabled through increased agricultural production with a focus on crop and farming component of the integrated agricultural strategy. Production intensification strategies will be developed for maximizing and diversifying production. In order to maximize the food production, farming practices will be supported by allocating agriculture land to producers and by extending land leases for crop and dairy farmers. The development of food processing and storage of fruits and vegetables will be encouraged. Agriculture Farmer’s Association will be supported. Agricultural extension services will be provided to farmers, including plant laboratory assistance, agricultural marketing services, veterinary services, and training. On‐farm employment opportunities will be created through vocational training. In order to enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural systems, infrastructure will be improved. An Arable Audit will be updated to map the resources by collecting data on each field, such as dimensions, location, ownership/lease, soil depth, active/fallow, pests, crops grown, bee hives, development issues, access etc. According to the consequences of the arable audit, a water provision strategy will be developed to identify routes linking agriculture lands in production to centralized systems. A national seed bank will be developed to assist with availability of seed from local sources. Post‐harvest storage infrastructure will be improved to alleviate problems of inconsistent supply and quality. Plant importation infrastructure will be improved in compliance with International Plant Protection Convention and therefore phytosanitary measures will be taken such as expanding inspection area and quarantine area at the Plant Protection Laboratory, and establishing a technical science committee. A national invasive species strategy and treatment action plans for pests will be developed to address negative impacts to natural environment and reduce loss of crops. Furthermore a new legislation will be made to better control feral animals and selling of pest plants, as well as to control importation of plant species. A web based virtual pests and disease information package, an integrated plant pest and disease surveillance program and a plant pest and disease rapid response program will be created. Research and development will be encouraged with a focus on pest and disease control (IPM), appropriate protected agriculture systems, agronomic practice and home gardening systems, new high yielding and pest resistant crop varieties. New production technologies will be encouraged including vertical farming, aquaponics, aquaculture, greenhouse farming, advanced irrigation and fertilization systems, hydroponics, micropropagation, plant tissue culture and protected production systems. A needs assessment will be conducted for small scale and peri‐urban farmers to ensure the sustainability of farming. Local produce will be promoted through implementation of a marketing strategy for local produce, clear labeling and identification of local produce in shops, consumer awareness raising, active promotion of the Farmer’s Market, and the development of value added Bermuda products. Public awareness will be raised through education. Moreover stakeholder awareness and involvement will be raised by developing a communication strategy to ensure coordination in the agriculture sector. Apiculture sector will be developed and at the same time measures will be taken in apiculture for human health and safety.
Бермудские острова (Великобритания) · 2016-07-21