The Kingdom of Morocco presented the first of several gifts expected to be made to the Bahamian government yesterday by delivering hundreds of thousands of tons of premium fertiliser to the country, “Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said.

The minister confirmed that the fertiliser, which will be used predominantly at the soon-to-be opened Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Sciences Insititute (BAMSI), arrived in The Bahamas this past weekend.

Mr. Mitchell said the fertiliser is the first of several gifts outlined in an agreement signed between the governments of Morocco and The Bahamas.

“They are amongst the best of natural fertiliser producers in the world,” he said.

“The Moroccans also offered scholarships to their institutions for students within the region, including The Bahamas. We’ve not yet been able to take up the offer on scholarships. But that comes next. However, this is a gift from the Government of Morocco of several hundred tons of fertiliser.”

Mr. Mitchell said he was pleased that the fertiliser had arrived in such a timely manner.

Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V. Alfred Gray said this gift will undoubtedly go a very long way.

“We [the government] will certainly use most of it in Andros at the Agriculture and Marine Science Institute,” he said.

“But I believe it will be correct for me to say that we now have enough fertiliser to fertilise the entire Bahamas, in terms of those who are willing to get involved in farming. Over a period of time we will certainly use every bag of it and I invite those farmers from around the country who have been looking for fertiliser at a good cost to come and have a look at this batch.”

According to Mr. Gray, the government will not be seeking to make a profit and as such will only be trying to cover shipping and freight costs.

Director of Agriculture Simeon Pinder said the fertiliser, which is a triple super phosphate, is among the highest quality.

“One of the most limited elements here for agricultural production is the availability of phosphates,” said Mr. Pinder. “Normally fertilisers are given in three numbers; nitrogen, phosphorous and then the potassium.

“Phosphates and limestone do not react together. In fact, what the limestone does is it makes the phosphate unavailable. So any opportunity to add additional phosphate is certainly a plus for any kind of production.

“So there’s no question about the quality. This is the highest grade of fertiliser you can get and it’s here by the hundreds of thousands of tons.”

Minister Gray encourages all farmers to contact the Ministry of Agriculture for the opportunity to purchase the fertiliser at a reasonable rate.

The regular price for the fertiliser would usually be around $2,400 per bag.