A FORMER Cabinet minister has backed proposals to develop an export industry that could generate more than $1/2 billion per year in foreign exchange earnings, telling The Tribune yesterday that producing corn for use in ethanol production would diverlify the economy an create "well paying job opportunities for Bahamians".

Vincent Peet, the former minister of financial services and investments, said his constituency, Andros and the Berry Islands, was the "ideal place" to look at establishing such an industry, given the former's history as the Bahamas "farming capital" and availability of some 160,000 acres of arable land.

"I think it's an exciting idea, and would create a lot of employment opportunities, which is critical for Andros and the wider Bahamas," Mr. Peet said. "It would provide well-trained persons in specialist areas."

The idea of exploiting the growing global demand for alternative energy by producing corn for ethanol production in the Bahamas was first suggested by Tony Joudi, president of construction; development and project management firm, FTC, via an interview with Tribune Business.

The article is understood to have aroused considerable interest in business and political circles, With the current FNM administration also thought to be interested in exploring the possibilities Mr Joudi outlined.

Mr Peet yesterday told The Tribune that establishing such an industry was somthing Bahamians of all political persuasions could agree on, since it had the potential to benefit the entire country.

"The idea is one we should exploit to the full, and from where I'm sitting the benefits would outweigh whatever the downside might be." he added.

"We're talking about a brand new industry, so apart from making a major economic impact, it has the potential to provide an alternative energy source and lower energy costs.

"It creates a new industry and well-paying job opportunities for Bahamians, not just in Andros but for Bahamians across the Bahamas. The finished product can benefit the entire Bahamas and be used for export."

Mr Peet said the "exciting possibilities" offered by producing corn for ethanol production would "bring new meaning to diversification, allow the economy and industry to expand, and provide exciting opportunities for current and future Bahamian high school and college graduates."

Andros, he added, would "be an ideal place to look at such an opportunity", given the availability of agricultural land and a relatively large agricultural skills base in the Bahamian context, given the island's history.

Corn was already grown on the island in small quantities, and Mr Peet said the main issue was whether Andros could attract the expertise and generate the production volume to "move it to another level".

He encouraged entrepreneurs and investors who had the capital, expertise and time to examine how a major industry to produce corn for ethanol use could be established in Andros, as the Bahamian climate was perfect for growing two corn crops per year.

Describing the ethanol proposition as a "win-win situation", Mr Peet said: "Andros is the farming capital of the country, although it has not been fully exploited. It is the agricultural centre, and this is an agricultural venture, so Andros would be ideal."

"The land is there, the water is there, the proximity to the main markets is there, the skills sets are there, with the students being graduated now."

Mr. Peet said North Andros High School had the "most advanced agricultural programme of any secondary school in the country", which expanded every year.

He added that he had been assured by the FNM minister of agriculture and fisheries, Larry Cartwright, that the plans the former PLP administration had left in place for a 200-acre agricultural training farm on Andros would continue.

The land had already been cleared for the complex, Mr Peet said, with key staff employed. "It is in the best interests of all to have that proceed, as it will provide training for young Bahamians in agriculture and horticulture," the North Andros and Berry Islands MP added.

Production

Mr Joudi had previously told The Tribune that growing corn for ethanol production would increase entrepreneurship in the Bahamas, expand foreign currency reserves, boost the shipping industry by giving it something to carry back to the US, diversify the Bahamian economy and encourage families to move back to the Family Islands, reducing overcrowding and congestion on New Providence.

He added that the creation of a 'corn-for-ethanol' industry would be assisted if the Government could allocate some 500,000 acres to it on islands such as Andros, Abaco, Eleuthera and Long Island.

One acre could produce 149 bushels of corn, Mr Joudi said, the average yield per acre in the US, and the Bahamas' climate meant this nation had "the potential to grow two crops per year".

With corn ethanol prices currently pushing upwards to $4 per bushel, Mr Joudi said that assuming this price and 149 bushels per acre, this would generate $298 million in gross export income from one crop if it was exported to the US for ethanol production.

Given that the Bahamas would have the ability to produce two crops per year, this gross export earnings would double to $596 million per year, Mr Joudi explained. Breaking this down, Mr Joudi said that if 5,000 families were each able to purchase or be granted 100 acres for producing ethanol corn, assuming the $4 per bushel price, 149 bushels per acre and two crops per year, each family would have the potential to earn $119,200 in gross income per year.

Demand for alternative forms of energy, such as ethanol, is only expected to increase in the major economies such as the US, in turn increasing demand for corn to be used in ethanol production.

In 2006, production of the ethanol biofuel reduced US oil imports by 170 million barrels, but Mr Joudi pointed out that US farmers tended to concentrate on producing corn for human consumption, rather than the hybrid corn for use in ethanol production which is the animal feed variety. This would leave a potential gap for the Bahamas to exploit.

Ethanol production in Jamaica was restarted in 2004 via a partnership between that country's Petrojam Ethanol and COIMEX of Brazil, and meetings last week between President George W Bush and the Jamaican prime minister saw the US extend the period for Jamaican-produced ethanol to enter that market duty-free.

Source: The Tribune