SANTA Cruz, St Elizabeth – He admits he doesn’t have “a dime yet” to finance his vision, but Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says he is determined to “establish a modern state-of-the-art agricultural cluster” in the Hounslow area of South West St Elizabeth.

As envisaged by Tufton, the cluster will include a 10,000-square foot pepper mash factory, an internationally certified abattoir, re-establishment of the ruminants’ breeding and training station, which was badly damaged by hurricane earlier in the decade and the development of a small factory for the production of goat cheese.

The agriculture minister, who was speaking recently at the groundbreaking ceremony for a Canadian International Development Agency-funded, farm-produce packaging house at Hounslow, said the area – located at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains south western slopes – was well suited for a cluster providing value-added opportunities for farmers. Tufton cited the reliability of farm produce supply made possible by the availability of irrigation water for approximately 3,500 acres of land as a major consideration.

Also, the minister pointed out, St Elizabeth’s farmers, for whom the Hounslow area provides a natural hub, were the leading producers of “primary agricultural produce” at 26 per cent of the nation’s total.

Regarding the pepper mash facility, Tufton – who is also member of Parliament for SW St Elizabeth – said his ministry was in the process of working out costings and that discussions had taken place with the Development Bank of Jamaica regarding funding and thought was being given to “possible operators”.

He said the proposed pepper mash factory would complement the packaging house which is to be managed by GraceKennedy, leading food processors and distributors.

The proposed abattoir would be part of a modern network that would have “traceability” of meats from ‘farm to fork’ as a feature – bringing the Jamaican meat industry in line with top international standards.

A recent study shows more than 1,000 slaughter facilities in Jamaica, of which about 600 were operating informally and “400 plus” are formally registered by the Ministry of Health.

Tufton’s vision entails a drastic change. He visualises “four or five abattoirs” with internationally recognised certification “strategically located across the country”. Under the plan “all commercial meats destined for exports or the tourism trade must flow through one of those certified abattoirs,” he said.

In addition to that there will be “100 or so community-based smaller slaughter facilities strategically located” across the country – not “necessarily” with international certification but with the required health and safety stamp of approval to serve the domestic market.