Freshwater and Agriculture in the Bahamas
by Genevieve Diamond

It is always a thrill for me to see the banks of the Bahama Islands come into view. Looking down from a jet, just a few minutes out of Miami International Airport, I see the familiar turquoise fade as the waters become shallower. Off to the right Andros appears the giant of the Bahamas, the land of chickarnees in the trees and bonefish in the bights. In the early May morning light, the sun makes diamonds on the surface of the ocean, and gentle waves appear as lacy white ruffles. A few minutes more and the mysterious, deep Tongue of the Ocean appears with New Providence nestled in the crook where it turns south. This is a sight that I never weary of - it's the sight of home.

I've flown this route many times, but on this brilliant morning I was going with a purpose I'd only dreamed of before. Thanks to a USDA-CSREES International Science and Education Scholarship, I was beginning an investigation into the freshwater resources in the Bahamas as they relate to agriculture. One of the world's most threatened small island developing states, the Bahamas is facing serious problems as issues from within and without the country shape its future. Among these are rising sea levels, food security issues, and availability of fresh water for domestic, tourism, and agricultural use. All of these are tied up together and affect each other. There are no easy or obvious solutions. I am hopeful that the results of my work will be useful in future planning.

A roadside stand on West Bay Street,
Nassau. Some of the produce is locally grown,
some imported.

The first step in what will be a long investigative process was to visit as many of the government agencies as possible in the six weeks that I was there to gather any existent data. My original plan was to focus my study on New Providence where the capital city of Nassau is located. However I soon learned that it would be necessary to study several of the islands because the freshwater resources and agricultural areas are spread across the island chain.

The islands of the Bahamas form an archipelago in the western Atlantic that is spread over approximately 80,000 square miles of water with a total land area of about 5,000 square miles. The Bahamas have the largest area of reefs in the Caribbean region and the world's third longest barrier reef is located just off Andros Island in the Central Bahamas. They have 2,240 miles of coastline and 900 square miles of mangroves. The Tropic of Cancer transects the islands near the Exuma Cays just south of Andros.

Although most of the ocean area in the Bahamas is fairly shallow, there are several deep channels which enter the island arc from the Atlantic Ocean. A unique feature of the Bahamas is the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO), a deep water basin 110 nautical miles long and 20 miles wide. The United States Navy conducts sonar and weapons testing from their Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre on the Island of Andros, which is located on the western rim of the TOTO. Water depths range from 4000 to 6000 feet within this basin.

U.S. submarine, sonar, and weapons testing
base in Andros. We were not allowed to enter.

All of the country's fresh water resources are contained in lens aquifers that form from rainwater. On the larger islands the inland lenses form in Lucayan limestone of Pleistocene age, while on other islands and near the coast they form in sands of Holocene age. They are called lens aquifers because of the supposed shape. When rain falls on the land, it sinks rapidly through the extremely porous sandy soil and limestone and rests on top of the salt water in the "sponge" below the surface. The freshwater floats on the salt water, where it can be withdrawn by pumping or some other method, or it sinks slowly and mixes with the salt. These aquifers are extremely vulnerable to salt water intrusion as a result of overpumping or storm surges, and much of the available freshwater holding capacity will be lost with the progression of sea level rise due to global climate change. It is my belief that it is urgent that the country begin to plan and implement ways to capture and store more of the rainfall which is abundant in most of the islands.

The government is actively involved in trying to improve food security in the country by expanding agricultural activities. This is an especially important issue as the country imports about eight-five percent of its food. The Bahamas can never hope to be completely independent where food is concerned simply because the land area is lacking for growing grain crops. A government experiment with growing paddy rice in Andros failed, and there are somewhat vague plans to experiment with dry land rice in the future. Traditional farming methods that have been practiced for centuries - the so-called banana-hole farming methods - are still used on the more southern islands, but government is encouraging large scale farming on the larger northern islands using methods imported from other parts of the world. The areas suitable for this type of farming also happen to be the areas where the largest freshwater aquifers are found. Given the porosity of the land, this could mean a direct conflict between farming and maintaining the integrity of freshwater resources. Great care must be taken to prevent pollution of the aquifers by agricultural inputs. This will require training of farmers in sustainable farming practices and oversight on the part of government.

A shallow well dug into the freshwater lens in the agricultural
area in Abaco.

Bahamian farmers produce a large assortment of fruits and vegetables that are sent to the capital, Nassau, for sale to local markets and export to other countries. The availability of transportation for crops is sometimes a problem for farmers. Everything is shipped by boat and bad weather or mechanical failures can mean delays in getting crops to market. Most of the agricultural areas have no refrigerated storage facilities, so getting products to market in a timely manner is crucial.

Produce from the Family Islands on sale at the Produce Exchange, Nassau

Another problem that farmers face is the lack of irrigation in most areas. The Deputy Director of Agriculture, Simeon Pinder, told me that irrigation is at the "sufferance of Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corp." Infrastructure simply does not exist in most of the agricultural areas to deliver water to crops as needed. The farmers put their plants in and wait for rain. I visited an onion farm in Abaco, part of the Abaco Agricultural Cooperative that seemed to be having great success. The onions were ready for pulling, and they were beautiful. When I spoke with Mr. Pinder about this he told me that those farmers had lost two fields of onions because they were planted too late and died for lack of rain. On New Providence irrigation is possible but much of the agricultural land on this island has been given over to development. More than two-thirds of the population of about 300,000 lives on New Providence, one of the smallest islands in the chain. Some successful farming ventures still exist here. One of these is Goodfellow Farm which is supplied with irrigation water by the New Providence Development Company, a private entity. Another is Lucayan Tropical Farm where hydroponics farming is practiced. This company uses a combination of harvested rainwater and freshwater that they produce by reverse osmosis.

Goodfellow Farm, New Providence

 

 

 

 

 

Lucayan Tropical Farm

The Mia Dean, one of the many mailboats that bring produce
from the Family Islands, tied up at Potter's Cay Dock, Nassau,
New Providence.

One of the national dishes is pigeon peas and rice. The rice is imported while the peas are locally grown. Tomatoes, onions, watermelons, papayas, citrus fruits, bananas, plaintains, and many other native fruits grow in abundance. Traditionally, cassava and sweet potatoes have been important crops for banana-hole farmers. Livestock such as goats, sheep and pigs are also produced in the Bahamas. Long Island has long been known for its goat's meat, and fresh native pork is enjoyed by most Bahamians.

There are many issues that must be faced to avoid major problems in the future. While knowledge and expertise from other countries is valuable, it must be applied carefully and with respect for the unique conditions that exist in these islands. Some things may work here while many others will be harmful. I hope the study I am undertaking will help to show how some of the methods for harvesting rainwater that have been used successfully in other countries might be applied in the Bahamas.

This project has been made possible by a funding support under the USDA CSREES ISE Grant Program.
USDA-CSREES Grant Number 2006-51160-03409.