Barbados Medium-Term Growth And Development Strategy 2013-2020.

The Barbados Medium-Term Growth And Development Strategy is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The timeframe of this Strategy is 7 years between 2013 and 2020. The goals of this Strategy are to: (I) return the economy to a sustainable growth rate of 3 per cent by 2017 and 4.5 per cent by 2020 while maintaining macroeconomic stability; (II) facilitate broad based adjustments and reforms in the economy; (III) enhance social and human development and; (IV) enhance energy and environmental sustainability in the context of the Green Economy.
This Strategy lays down actions to achieve economic growth and development not only in key sectors such as tourism, international business and financial services, agriculture, and industry, but also to enhance the contribution from the culture and sports industry, innovation and science, and small and medium sized enterprises. The efficiency and competitiveness will be increased within the tourism sector. The international business and financial services sector will be improved through the review of fees, tax incentives and the capturing of better statistical data to make more informed decisions. A national policy framework will be developed to guide the development of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises sector. The agriculture sector will be developed by alleviating impact of praedial larceny; promoting food and nutrition security through enhanced production and productivity; enhancing new product development and agro-processing; improving marketing and post-harvest handling; enhancing agricultural research and development for the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of agricultural production; taking measures to facilitate exports and investment; building the institutional capacity; and establishing broad-based knowledge management system to drive innovation, research and policy formulation across the public and private sectors. The sustainable production, processing, preparation, commercialization and consumption of safe, affordable, nutritious, high quality national food commodities/products will be promoted. A Food Security Act will be enacted and a Food Import Policy will be developed. Regular access of households, especially the poor and vulnerable, will be ensured to sufficient quantities of safe, affordable, quality food at all times, particularly in response to diverse socio-economic and natural shocks. Sustainable land management practices, water management and flood mitigation practices and the use of renewable energy technologies will be incorporated as measures for securing and increasing agricultural production. The nutritional status of the population will be improved focusing primarily on health promotion and disease prevention. To this end, nutritional monitoring systems and food security measures will be improved.
The legal and policy frameworks and standards and guidelines will be developed and updated for the conservation, management and sustainable use of the fisheries resources; protection of associated habitats and biodiversity; appropriate development of the fisheries sector; preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing; fish quality assurance; and safety of vessels and crew at sea. Cost-effective data collection will be established to provide the data and information required for decision-making in a timely manner. Measures will be implemented and enforced to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing in Barbados’ waters or on the high seas by local and foreign vessels. Strategies will be developed to provide for viable and sustainable livelihoods, safe working conditions for workers in fisheries, and good governance of institutions, structures and processes that influence the sustainability of livelihoods. The skills, knowledge and abilities of persons engaged in the fisheries sector will be improved through training, education and certification in areas critical to their participation in the sector and development of the fishing industry. Fisheries Research and Development will be enhanced by allocating more resources. Initiatives will be promoted which will improve marketing and distribution of fish; identify and access new local and overseas markets; promote the health benefits of fish; and promote the production, processing, preparation, commercialization and compensation of fish as a safe, affordable, nutritious and high quality food. Fisherfolks will be encouraged to participate in national social security programmes and compensation schemes, and a framework will be established to encourage the participation of the national fisherfolk organisation in planning for fisheries development. Efforts will be carried out to generate value-added fish products and utilise fish waste to produce value-added products. Infrastructure will be developed for proper fish handling, display and storage practices; waste disposal procedures; working conditions and sanitary and phytosanitary conditions. The harvesting of additional species of fish will be increased by facilitating the expansion of deep sea fishing.
This Strategy sets out targets for the transformation to a green economy with the aim of becoming the most environmentally advanced green country in Latin America and the Caribbean. Green growth strategies will be implemented in the agriculture and fisheries sector, such as strengthening agricultural cooperatives; improving sustainable agricultural extension services; supporting the development and management of marine protected areas; and developing fiscal incentives and innovative financial mechanisms to promote the use of fish waste in agriculture.
Resilience building and climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies will be implemented through a holistic approach. Efforts to build a green economy through promoting green and blue growth initiatives will be accelerated. Investments will be attracted in prevention and preparedness to strengthen disaster risk reduction. Hazard mitigation policy will be developed and early warning system will be improved. Capacity building will be enhanced to carry out climate adaptation and mitigation actions. An efficient and reliable energy sector will be ensured by embracing energy conservation strategies and promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency. Measures will be undertaken to reduce the solid waste levels and generate energy from waste, and awareness will be raised on recycling and other good environmental practices. Safe and reliable water supply will be maintained to meet the social and economic needs. The water infrastructure will be upgraded and extended. New ground water sources and distribution systems will be developed. Wastewater treatment levels will be upgraded to allow for the reuse of treated wastewater, including the desalination of brackish/sea water.
Employment opportunities will be generated through labour market reform, with a special emphasis on youth and women. Young people will be supported and empowered to become more entrepreneurial around existing traditional and emerging sectors. Poverty reduction strategies will be implemented to address vulnerabilities. Gender equality will be ensured to enable both men and women to take part fully in social and economic life, and will be incorporated into national policies.