Essex Valley Farmers to Receive Irrigation Water by End of September

The Essex Valley irrigation project in St. Elizabeth is 98 per cent complete, with farmers expected to begin receiving water from the system by the end of September, says Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green.

Providing an update during Wednesday’s (September 2) handover of the Essex Valley Agro-Economic Zone, the Minister said that the project has reached its final stages with pipes laid and pumps installed in all five wells.

The testing of the wells went smoothly, he reported, with only one presenting an issue that is expected to be resolved within about two weeks.

“The next time that we come, it will be to turn on the water. We are literally in our final few weeks with this project,” he said.

Minister Green informed that farmers who have already applied and paid for irrigation water will be able to access the system once it is handed over by the contractor, even ahead of an official launch.

He appealed to farmers to resist the temptation to draw water from the system prematurely, noting that it remains in a testing phase and under contract. In fact, he warned that any tampering could complicate efforts to hold the contractor accountable for any issues.

“We do not want – because a farmer has tampered with the system – the contractor to come and say it is not his fault that there is a problem and we can’t get them to remedy the problem,” he said.

The Minister urged the farmers to remain patient as the project approaches completion and is formally handed over.