Bahamian investors will get details on how they can invest in a $60m hydroponic farming project by early March, its principals saying yesterday: “We want to make agriculture sexy again.”
Lincoln Deal, Eeden Farms’ co-founder, told Tribune Business that Bahamians would get a chance to participate in a “high level” of ownership in the proposed Gladstone Road facility that will be 100 percent privately financed.
He confirmed that himself and his fellow co-founder, Carlos Palacious, are currently talking to both Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamian subsidiary of the world’s third largest cryptocurrency exchange which recently switched its headquarters to this nation from Hong Kong, about providing financing for the planned 71,000 square foot facility.
The necessary land “is in hand”, Mr Deal said, with the project set to be located at the Ministry of Agriculture’s former agro village “near where the farmer’s market used to be”. Mr Palacious added that the duo and their US partner, 80 Acres Farms, were aiming to “break ground” on construction in the 2022 second or third quarter depending on how quickly the required approvals are obtained.
Besides cutting into The Bahamas’ annual $1bn food import bill with their herbs and greens, and providing a model for other farmers to emulate, the Eeden Farms duo said the project - to be known as Eeden Acres - aims to also inspire young Bahamians to enter the industry through its marriage of agriculture and technology via the use of artificial intelligence in growing techniques.
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