Farmers desperate for good roads to transport produce

Farmers across St Thomas have been severely affected economically by last month's Tropical Storm Eta.

With several roads damaged, impassable, or not able to facilitate large trucks, farmers have to find alternate means of transporting their goods to the market. And this comes with high, head scratching expenses.

"The road extra bad! My goods have to go through Trinityville because there is no other road to use. That's where I live. Usually, me charter vehicles to take my goods down to the market. I have carrot, green peas, cocoa, plantain, and other things. One time I pay all $1,000 to get them down but now it a cost me more," Winston Harris, 72, told THE STAR.

$2,000 fi a trip

"I plant coffee, banana, plantain and nuff likkle things. Now, me afi pay all over $2,000 fi a trip. Just fi get some things dung a town. We need the roads fi fix now. From the rain come, I don't see anybody come look in Trinityville. Nobody representative nuh come round here come look," he said.

Cedar Valley farmer Morvel Brown, 58, who has depended on market trucks, has to dig deep in his pockets and employ other rides.

"No vehicle caa run from Cedar Valley to Morant Bay, so we afi go round Yallahs side. An no market truck nah run now ... we afi charter a van fi carry the load and that cost me more money. The market truck charge by the bag, so $200 a bag. If you have five bags, that's $1,000. But the van man a go charge you a extra money, so you looking at all $3,000," he said. "Then that van man nuh business with you when yuh reach. You have to find something else come back."

Having suffered tremendous loss, Brown hoped to earn the maximum from what remains of his farm. But that has not materialised.

"All of this side was flooded. I lose nuff things. When I look, some of my farmland slide weh! A nice piece gone weh wid a whole heap of crops. So about $25,000 that gone. But the road nah make nothing possible. We as residents a work pon the road and a try fix it, but we alone caa manage. We a try work pon the wheelbase dem so the vehicles dem can run," he said.

Noel Shepherd, 63, has lived in Ramble all his life. The truck driver who transports farmers and vendors to markets in the downtown area is accustomed to 'bad roads' in St Thomas, but said this year is the worst things have been.

"It's a sin to see the condition. It made me feel a way to know the place is like this. Drains block up for the past five years or more. We need some better results. The road hard fi traverse. Me caa carry market people pon dat," he said. "We need something good to happen. We have the river right here ... if it's even to smooth off the road with some sill. We caa live with it much longer. It too bad. If maintenance did a happen and they were keeping the drains clean, the road wouldn't mash up like this. I was here from Gilbert and the road never get damaged like this."