Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer

Dr. Christopher Tufton holds the bible aloft during his swearing-in as a Cabinet minister in the Bruce Golding administration at King's House on Friday. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Dr. Christopher Tufton, the new minister of agriculture, is promising to spark a revolution in the industry.

To achieve that, he says he will, among other things, promote the use of modern technology, get more young people involved, and facilitate the provision of relatively inexpensive credit for farmers.

Underpinning all of these measures, the minister, who also has responsibility for the lands portfolio, wants to embark on a major land-titling project, through which an unprecedented number of landholders will have their claims properly registered.

These and other proposals are reflective of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) commitments in its 2007 election manifesto.

In that document, the JLP promised to amend the Registration of Titles Act to simplify the registration of untitled land where the claimant has been in possession for a minimum period, where ownership is not in dispute and can be confirmed by evidence.

"I want to work to establish a system which will bring landowners - persons who have common-law titles - into the mainstream so that they can use their holdings as security to invest, either as collateral for financing or otherwise to boost investment."

announcement to come

"I want to make an announcement on that within the first three months," the minister promised.

To complement the land-tenure initiative, he said, efforts would be made to boost favourable credit to the farmers through the People's Co-operative banks.

Another three-month commitment is to bring new legislation governing the fisheries sector to Parliament. Work was reportedly far advanced on the new Fisheries Act at the end of the last administration and the new minister is promising to bring it to fruition without any further delay. This and other measures to restore the health of the fisheries sector, which he promoted as a candidate for Parliament, will now be vigorously pursued, he said.

Crediting the last administration for "some experimentation with greenhouse technology and minor improvements in irrigation water," Tufton said he was determined to facilitate the establishment of many more such schemes. One related initiative to be pursued was the establishment of greenhouse clusters in locations that are ideal for that purpose, he said.

At age 39, Tufton has already earned a place of distinction, being one of the youngest ministers of agriculture on record. Now, he is promising to match that youthfulness with bold, innovative approaches.

"My vision for this industry is big!" he asserted enthusiastically, seated for the first time at his new desk at the Ministry of Agriculture's Hope Gardens address.

use of technology

"It is a vision which sees the use of technology to boost the productivity levels of the industry both in terms of output quantity and output quality."

It would see to the use of technology, "both in terms of the methods of farming and in the capacity of persons involved in the industry to lift productivity levels and have greater consistency of output".

In the same breath, he repeated an often-stated goal of the new administration - to significantly increase agriculture's contribution to the country's GDP from the current rate of approximately six per cent.

Increased production would also have to be matched by better market intelligence and profitable linkages between the producers and the hotel operators, yielding more benefits to the farmers themselves, rather than just the middle-men, he said.

Tufton's CV

Former president of the youth professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party (G2K).

Senior lecturer in the Department of Management Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the Manchester Business School, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Master's degree in marketing, School of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.

B.Sc., Management Studies, Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.