Farmers getting a new $120m road

Yam farmers in Mendez Town in Lowe River, Trelawny, will soon have better roads to transport their produce as the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), in partnership with the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, is now constructing a new road in their community at a cost of $120 million.

Omar Sweeney, JSIF's managing director, recently told JIS News that the project, which is designed to support the yam farmers in the area, is being undertaken by the contacting entity, Contracts Enterprise.

"It is a very productive area with the yield of yams," said Sweeney, in outlining that a completely new road will be put in place to replace the dirt track that is currently being used.

"We started work on that road last week and we anticipate that in another four months or so, we should complete that project," continued Sweeney. "So, we are working along with the municipal corporation with their engineers and contractors to get this road installed."

Sweeney noted that on completion, the new road will have a triple effect. It will make it easier for farmers to get to their fields, easier to transport their produce to market, and easier for buyers to access the farms.

"It's really on the rural development agenda. A lot of the farmers are still using donkeys and their own labour to carry the produce uphill, and it is really a challenge for them to access markets," noted Sweeney. "The purveyors that come to buy the produce drive trucks, so we have to be able to get the trucks down into the fields. It would make it much easier for everybody."