Paradigm Shift is Needed for Countries to Boost Food Production…Says Minister Tufton

Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, says a paradigm shift is needed by all countries to boost food production.
The Minister was speaking at the opening of the 5th Hemispheric meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas and the 15th regular meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture at the Ritz Carlton in Montego Bay on October 27.
Minister Tufton said that, “assuming a world population of 9.2 billion people by 2050, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the world will be challenged to respond to an approximately doubling of demand for food during this period.”
He said to meet this demand will involve improving the means and methods to enhance primary production, which will have to be supported by appropriate rural infrastructure. The Minister of Agriculture explained that agriculture should not be viewed just as an economic statistic measured in its trade terms of Gross Domestic Product per capita, but as a critical socio-economic imperative mainly for rural people.
The Minister announced that the Ministerial delegates worked on updating the Agro 2003/2015 plan, which will be adopted as The Jamaica 2009 Hemispheric Ministerial Agreement.
The private sector was given special focus in the meetings to emphasize their importance in driving agro investments for economic expansion and food security in the hemisphere.
Jamaica is the first English-speaking Caribbean country to host this worldwide event.