Mullings Technological developments, such as Geo-infomatics, will save millions of dollars through increased productivity and efficiency if applied properly to areas such as agriculture, natural resources management and environmental control, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Land and Environment, Seymour Mullings.
Geo-infomatics, which covers disciplines such as surveying, cartography, networking, mapping and database management - all of which are planning and forecasting aids - "breaks down barriers and provides us with tools to create linkages among organisations and systems," Minister Mullings said Wednesday prior to officially re-opening the Land Information Council of Jamaica's (LICJ) Geo-Infomatics Training Centre, Rural Physical Planning Unit at Old Hope Road, St. Andrew.
The breakdown, he continued, would: foster greater collaboration, allow better decisions to be made in areas such as agriculture, natural resources management and environmental control; and help businesses streamline customer service operations and revolutionise logistical planning.
Toward achieving this, the LICJ and other government agencies have been trying to acquire updated maps for Jamaica, amounting to $60 million or 60 per cent of the cost.
Mr. Mullings was adamant that the expansion and strengthening of the training centre as well as education are "critical prerequisites to sustainable development and economic growth of any country", especially with the growing business opportunities made available via geo-infomatics locally and internationally, he said.
Aaron Parke, the Agriculture ministry's Permanent Secretary agreed, stressing that his Ministry had not been left behind by technology but had in fact been a pioneer, starting in 1981. Currently, there are several technological developments in the industry such as online information transfers between agricultural interests and the private sector.
The Ministry is also creating an agri-business system to collect information on crops, production, marketing and stakeholders to pass marketing information and intelligence on production.
"The agricultural sector still has a long way to go in terms of identifying and utilising the opportunities offered by information technology but it has not been totally left behind," he told his audience, comprising guests from the IDB, the private sector and the Ministry of Transport and Works.
The centre, which has trained some 850 people to use computer based Geographical Information Systems (GIS), was previously situated at the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), Old Hope Road, courtesy of funds from the land titles programme and a US$100,000 boost from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
However, it was relocated after space was provided free-of-cost by the Agriculture ministry, explained Jacqueline daCosta, who chairs LICJ. She added that this would help to guarantee that courses remained reasonable. The LICJ hopes that the University Council of Jamaica will, by 2003, accredit GIS courses.
