Mendez Town Farm Road Rehabilitated

The newly rehabilitated Mendez Town farm road in Lime Tree, South Trelawny, was officially handed over to the community on Thursday (April 17), by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green.

Undertaken at a cost of $140 million, the  project, which includes paving works and a new drainage system, is expected to significantly improve transportation for residents,  90 per cent of whom are engaged in farming.

The initiative was funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and implemented through the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).

Minister Green said the rehabilitation of the roadway will better enable residents to travel to and from their communities, reduce cost of transportation and make it easier for farmers to get to their fields and access markets.

“When we do roads of this nature, we are transforming the entire community,” he noted. “[We] are about ensuring that the lives of citizens will be different,” he added.

Minister Green said Mendez Town is just one of several farming communities in South Trelawny to benefit under the Ministry’s  farm road rehabilitation programme.

“In fact, over the last two years, we have touched a number of communities in South Trelawny in relation to our farm road network and we have some more to do,” he pointed out.

The Government has allocated $900 million in the 2025/26 budget for further farm road rehabilitation. In the previous financial year, 51 farm roads received comprehensive repairs, and an additional 30 benefitted from minor rehabilitation works.

He indicated that JSIF received clearance from the Trelawny Municipal Corporation and took full responsibility for the project, while maintaining coordination with the Superintendent of Works to ensure compliance with the Corporation’s requirements.

“Moreover, the community has received training in road maintenance under this project and that training included a kit containing machetes, wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, gloves and even garbage bags to maintain the road,” Mr. Sweeney outlined.

“So, we’re happy that we have been able to achieve success here and I really look forward to seeing the successful outcomes for years to come,” he said.

For many residents, the completion of the road represents a transformation in their daily lives.

Farmer and Community Development Committee President, Ionie Stewart-Samms, said she was grateful to all who contributed to the project’s success.

She recalled having to use donkeys to transport yam sticks to her field due to the road’s previous condition, and challenges commuting to work.

“I am now grateful that the road is fixed. Words cannot express at this time how I am feeling. I want to say thank you to the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, the Ministry of Agriculture, Member of Parliament (Marissa Dalrymple-Philibert) and everybody, who would have taken part in [the rehabilitation of the road],” Ms. Stewart-Samms said.