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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The Barbados government is undertaking some bold initiatives to help revive the ailing agriculture sector which once dominated the economy as the major foreign exchange earner.       Up until the 1960s, agriculture had contributed about 25 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) when sugar was king, pumping millions of dollars into the economy.       Today, that figure is about five per cent as many farmers have left the industry and changes in the global trading environment and production systems have impacted negatively.       With these new initiatives, the government here is attempting to make commercial agriculture a viable sector once more.       The overall objective is to achieve a satisfactory level of food security, maintaining the stability of rural Barbados and forming the necessary linkages with sectors such as tourism -- now the country's major foreign exchange earner.       The initiatives were announced by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Owen Arthur, earlier this month as he presented a Statement of Financial and Economic Policies to Parliament.       Government is offering an additional price support of 10.55 Barbados dollars (US$5.27) per tonne for the 2000 sugar crop; will engage in the production of high-grade, high-quality sugar and sugar-based products and move to a single sugar factory that is expected to reduce the industry's operating cost by Bds$8 million (US$4 million) per year.       The other initiatives to stimulate agriculture include: the establishment of a Bds$100,000 (US$50,000) technical assistance fund to help develop organic farming; a grant to farmers of Bds$500 (US$250) per hectare for idle land brought back into cotton production (plot sizes from 0.2 to 8 hectares).       Government will also make available a grant of 30 per cent of the cost of establishing a post harvest facility on farms for sorting, grading and packaging agricultural produce of up to Bds$5,000 (US$2,500) per farmer and a rebate of 30 per cent up to a maximum of Bds$10,000 (US$5,000) per exporter on the cost of international transport and freight for fresh produce.       In an effort to increase the consumption of local products, government will ensure that, in the first instance, at least 60 per cent of the requirements of the school feeding program, institutions be assigned to local fresh and processed products, beef, lamb, vegetables etc.       Arthur said the changed global trading environment which is characterized by the removal of protectionist barriers, had seriously affected the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.       He said the effects were deeply felt over the last two years, resulting in a sharp decline in production, growing uncertainty, reduced investment and pressure on the viability of some enterprises.       "The nature of challenges facing our sector now requires that there be drastic reform in what we produce and how we produce in agriculture in Barbados," Arthur said.       "Government, will therefore, in the context of the reform to be carried out in the sector, provide our agriculture sector with protection in all forms and fully up to the extent consistent with our regional and our international trade agreements," he added.       There is a general view that the government's initiatives would go a long way in injecting new life in the agriculture sector.       What has been suggested, though, is that the success of the initiatives will depend a lot on the farmers themselves and how and when they are implemented.       Some questions have been raised, as well, about whether or not the government's schemes are coming a little bit to late.       Opposition leader David Thompson, for example, has taken issue with the specific initiative to use more products from local farmers.       He countered that because traditional suppliers of foodstuff would not be able to compete at current prices due to increased competition, the government was now turning back to local producers.       "When farmers were complaining that certain big-ups in the government were swamping the market with imported produce and rendering their farms unprofitable, they were abused," Thompson said in his reply to Arthur's presentation.       He described as "absurd" the government's plan to reserve 31,000 hectares of land for agricultural purposes, saying land owners were not likely to plant sugar in an environment where "ad hoc and open-ended planning permission (was) being given to people to develop luxury tourism accommodation and golf courses".       Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul is of the view that it might take more than incentives to bring agriculture back to a position of economic dominance.       "I see the measures which were introduced by the prime minister as going a long way in terms of stimulating production in the sector. But, as to whether or not the production stimulated would be lasting and not temporary remains to be seen," the Business Authority quoted him as saying.       In its assessment of Arthur's policy initiatives, the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said the measures had the capacity to facilitate the sustainable development of key sectors such as tourism and manufacturing.       It said the government had adopted a workable approach to addressing the challenges confronting agriculture sector but they required a great deal of commitment on the part of the parties involved.       "This is a comprehensive approach to addressing the challenges that are confronting the agricultural sector as a result of globalization and is a bold and well-conceived course of action," it said.       "Its success will depend on the support and commitment of the partners involved, including investors. However, farmers need to know what financial assistance will be provided for 2001 and beyond," it added.       A report from the Central Bank shows that during the first quarter of 2001, sugar production rose by an estimated 17.9 per cent during the period under review.       The production of 28,650 tonnes of sugar was due to an early start to the sugar crop and higher sucrose content in sugar, it stated.       On the contrary, output in the non-sugar agriculture sector declined by 18.4 per cent in the first quarter, after expanding by the same period last year, the result of contractions in fish landings and chicken production.       As far as the former head of the Barbados Agricultural Management Company Ltd (BAMC), Attlee Brathwaite is concerned, the government needs to reassess its land use policy in order to save the agriculture industry.       He says that too much of the agricultural land is being re-allocated for golf courses, construction and urban development or to an idle status producing weed and wood.       "For example, unless agriculture begins to be seen as a profitable enterprise and effective land use policies are put in place and implemented, this trend will continue, if not increase," he said in addressing last weekend's conference of the opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP).       "At present, agriculture looks like a dying industry, sugar production is disappearing, food crop production is declining, livestock production is down and there is a note of panic in current discussions on land use and land prices," he added.