Above: a garden in Antigua

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The government of Antigua and Barbuda is urging citizens to buy locally-sourced food and produce as part of a campaign aimed at boosting the “health and wealth” of the nation.

The “buy local” campaign, being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, looks to reduce the country’s high import bill and move closer to “food sovereignty,” according to Extension Officer Owalabi Elabanjo.

While farmers in Antigua had been rising to the challenge, Elabanjo said, buyers are not following suit.

“People are not buying as we expected, so this year we will increase awareness to buy local and utilize fresh food,” the extension officer said. “It’s good to have production, but if people are not buying in volume, for both consumption and utilization, it’s going to affect the farmers.”

Elabanjo pointed to a “paradox” of the apparent “sophisticated way of eating, like using more frozen foods or eating from the can,” when doing so can be less healthy than the local alternative.

“We will be sensitizing the public through a campaign to buy local, eat fresh and to be concerned with their health and our economy,” Elabanjo said. “We want to let consumers know that once the food is available, they should support the farmers, because when you do this, you support our economy and your own health.”

Antigua launched a backyard gardening initiative last year. part of a Caribbean-wide trend to encourage locally-grown produce.