The Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) is partnering with Exclusive Cottons of the Caribbean Inc. on a project that could improve how the fibre is harvested and potentially boost production.Chief executive officer of Exclusive Cottons Adlai Stevenson told Barbados TODAY the two entities were looking to import approximately 40 handheld harvesters that he said could significantly address two of the major challenges facing the industry – a lack of labour and insufficient lands to grow the cotton.These challenges have led to a fall-off in the local cotton industry over the past several years, despite international demand for the product and the profitability of West Indian Sea Cotton, which is one of the highest priced in the world at more than US$10 per pound.“Hopefully, the harvesters will encourage more people to come out. We anticipate that the harvesters will prove themselves and, hopefully, the farmers are more enthusiastic about picking cotton,” Stevenson said.
