Work Commences on Mendez Town Farm Road in Trelawny

Work is underway on the construction of  a road to serve farmers in Mendez Town in Lowe River, Trelawny.

The $120 million project is being undertaken by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) in partnership with the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, with Contracts Enterprise as the contracting entity.

Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, told JIS News that the project will support the yam farmers in the area.

“It is a very productive area with the yield of yams. We started work on that road last week and we anticipate that in another four months or so we should complete that project,” he said.

Mr. Sweeney explained that the project involves the construction of a “completely new road” to replace the existing dirt track.

“So, we are working along with the municipal corporation with their engineers and contractors to get this road installed,” he noted.

Mr. Sweeney said that the road will make it easier for farmers to get to their fields, transport their produce to market, and 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. 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,” Mr. Sweeney said.