November 1 (JIS): The “vast majority” of farm roads impacted by the 5.6-magnitude earthquake on Monday (October 30) have been cleared, says Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green. He was reporting on the effects of the earthquake on the agriculture sector during Wednesday’s (November 1) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House. Minister Green said six farm roads in east rural St. Andrew and parts of St. Thomas were blocked by landslides. “Thankfully, we did have equipment on the ground in relation to both St. Andrew and St. Thomas, so our RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) tractors went into action. My last report is that the vast majority of those roads were cleared. In fact, when I checked yesterday, only one road was not cleared,” he said. He assured farmers that repairing farm roads across Jamaica remains a priority of the Government. Mr. Green shared that $610 million was earmarked this year for necessary works and an additional $200 million was later allocated. “We have already done work on 23 farm roads this year. We have another 13 in procurement and we are looking to do another 20 thereabouts,” he indicated. The Minister said he has been advocating for a minimum of $1 billion for farm roads over the next three years. “If we’re able to get that sort of support, not only will we be able to do more roads but we really have to look at the quality of the work that is being done and to ensure that we’re not only doing the roads but we’re looking at drainage, culverts and things of that nature,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, Mr. Green advised that there was no significant damage to farm property resulting from the earthquake.

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