BAMSI Celebrates World Food Day
BAMSI Celebrates World Food Day – ‘Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together.’
The Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) joins with the global community in recognizing and celebrating the Food and Agriculture Organizations’ World Food Day 2020, (October 16th).
In alignment with the FAO’s efforts to promote awareness and encourage action for those who suffer from hunger and to ensure healthy diets for every community, and as part of its ‘Give Back’ programme BAMSI is donating produce grown on its North Andros farm to three agencies; the Ranfurly Home for Children, the Children’s Emergency Hostel and Pat’s Senior Citizens Home. The donation includes cases of sweet potatoes, eggplant, papaya and pumpkin.
“With COVID-19 effecting countless lives, the call to action presented by World Food Day 2020 becomes even more urgent,” BAMSI Chairman Stephen Turnquest said. “We’ve seen that one of the things that has emerged during this season is a renewed focus on food: access to food, simple day to day access to food, access to safe, nutritious food especially for the poor and the most vulnerable communities.
“As one of the agencies tasked with improving food security and increasing the availability of safe and nutritious foods, BAMSI relies on the engines of research, education and public engagement to achieve its mission of improving the quality, variety and quantity of food being produced in the Bahamas,” he said.
BAMSI’s donation, along with other local celebrations of World Food Day, underscore the FAO’s relationship with the Bahamas and the nation’s various agriculture entities. In 2018, the FAO funded, to the tune of some $20,000, a multi-faceted, deep water aquaponics system which serves as the base for the Institute’s current facility. They also supported BAMSI’s livestock project, with BAMSI in turn sharing animals with livestock farmers throughout the Bahamas. Further, top FAO advisors and ministers from across the region visited the BAMSI campus and farm facility in North Andros.
