A man who has spent most of his life studying agriculture, Dr Hugh Lambert is playing his role in encouraging people, especially the young to venture into the sector.
Dr Lambert, who is an agricultural research and development specialist at the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), had been interested in farming, from a young age.
His whole life has been dedicated to agriculture and he has held several positions in various entities. These include: president of the St Mary Association of Branch Societies of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS); JAS representative on the St. Mary Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) board; member of the board of directors of the JAS national board; member of the St Mary Horticulture Society since 1979; member of the St. Andrew 4-H Advisory Council; executive member of the 4-H island advisory council; chairman of the St Mary Agri-Expo planning committee; vice chairman of Carron Hall High School board since 2011 and member of the College of Agricultural Science and Education (CASE) Alumni Association, since 1979.
EARLY BEGINNINGS
Dr Lambert, who is an agronomist by profession, was born in Devon Pen, St Mary to parents, Wasbert and Pearl Lambert. His parents left for England in the 1950s and he grew up in Pittsfield near Scott’s Hall, St Mary with his grandparents, Margaret and Edward Pommells.
“I’ve always been interested in farming from as long as I can remember. My grandfather was a farmer, who had cows and bananas and that’s what we grew up with,” Dr Lambert explained.
He attended Devon Pen Primary School and later sat the second Jamaica Local exams and later the Jamaica School Certificate exams. However, he explained that his grandparents could not afford for him to go to high school.
This did not deter young Hugh at the time, as he became a pre-trained teacher at the Scott’s Hall Primary and later Devon Pen Primary schools.
Lambert graduated from the Jamaica School of Agriculture in 1973 with a diploma in Agriculture. After this he taught for a year at Oberlin High School. He attained work in the Ministry of Agriculture first as an extension officer, then farm manager and later got promoted to a divisional officer in St Mary.
His pursuit of further education and greater social improvement saw Lambert leaving for the USA in 1988 to study at the Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University (PVAMU) in Texas, USA.
HARD WORK AND SUCCESS
Dr Lambert completed his Bachelor of Science degree in General Agriculture within a year and said he was “the first student to complete that degree in one year at the time.”
“I was always a member of the Dean’s list. In 1988, I was a member of the National Dean’s list and I won the competitive award from the Department of Agriculture in 1988 and I earned my degree with a Magna Cum Laude, he explained.
None of it was easy. “It was rough, because I had to wake up at 10 p.m. and go to work by 11 at a convenience store. Then I left by 7 a.m. to reach school by 8 a.m. When class ended at 1 p.m., I had to go on the farm to work, because the university provided you with twenty hours of work. At 5 p.m., I left work and had to sleep from six to 10 p.m., to get back to the other job,” he explained.
He added that there were 17 Jamaicans on campus and they all had the same schedule, but they all excelled academically by being on the Honor Roll and the Dean’s List.
He also completed his Masters in Soil Science at PVAMU in 1991 and worked as a graduate assistant until 1994 with help from his professor, who was a Jamaican, Dr Arthur Mangaroo. Dr Lambert credits Dr Mangaroo for his assistance in obtaining a scholarship to attend Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University, where he graduated with a PhD in Agronomy in 1997.
WORK WITH JBI
Dr Lambert returned to Jamaica in 1999 and, shortly after, gained employment at the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), where he is the agricultural research and development specialist and operations manager of the JBI plant nursery.
“The biggest agriculture project we have going on now is where we are spending over 400 million dollars to do climate change intervention in the bauxite areas,” he explained.
In his capacity as operations manager of the JBI plant nursery, he has been able to sell over a million seedlings per year to farmers and householders across the country.
AGRICULTURE IN ST MARY
“Agriculture in the parish is vibrant,” he said, while noting that as chairman of the St Mary Agri-Expo planning committee, farmers in St Mary have found the annual expo to be successful for them.
He has also got the youth involved in agriculture as through his association with the Carron Hall High School, where he is the vice chairman, the school has been doing better in the area.
With his role in RADA, he is hoping that the government will follow through with their promise of an Agro-Park for St Mary as he said this would bring greater opportunities for persons in the parish and bring capital to the agricultural sector.
“Still like other parishes, we are plagued with praedial larceny. We have to cooperate with the police to see how we can reduce this. When a man has his one cow to sell for his child to go back to school, it is the worst thing for him to lose it,” he said.
LIFE OUTSIDE AGRICULTURE
Dr Lambert resides in Highgate, St Mary with his wife of eight years, Victoria.
He enjoys gardening and loves plants and has been a member of the St Mary Horticulture Society since 1979.
For his hard work Hugh Lambert has been awarded the prestigious Governor Generals Achievement Award (GGAA) for 2016 for the parish of St. Mary.
He enjoys domino and watching cricket now that his playing days are over.
Dr Lambert is the proud father of two children; Shane and Rhonda and also has a granddaughter, Zara. He also attends the St Cyprian’s Anglican Church with his wife, Victoria.
Dr Lambert believes that it is important for young men to keep themselves busy and become involved in community programmes. “When you volunteer, you are not just doing it for persons, but you are doing it for yourself. You are getting that feel good spirit also,” he said.
