AF/16/22
MONTEGO BAY, April 4 (JIS):
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has given a new timeline for the completion of the Essex Valley Agricultural Development Project (EVADP), following delays caused by the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic and the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
According to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dermon Spence, the project, which was slated for completion in June 2023, is now set to end in December 2023.
He informed that global issues caused significant delays in acquiring materials and equipment for the project, which forced the Ministry to modify several components, change the timeline for completion, the scope, as well as for budgetary adjustment.
The Permanent Secretary was speaking at the Essex Valley Agricultural Development Authority's community consultation held at the Comma Pen Church of God of Prophecy, St Elizabeth, on April 1, aimed at updating the residents on the status of the project.
Pipes to be installed across some 810 hectares of farmlands will now arrive in June, following which the project execution will be ramped up.
Mr. Spence further noted that there were delays in the earlier part of the project due to failure to find “adequate and acceptable water quality and the volumes that we need based on the wells that we were drilling.”
He said despite those challenges, five wells have been constructed and will be outfitted with pumping systems in short order.
Mr. Spence assured farmers that the Government, along with key stakeholders, is pulling out all the stops to deliver the project by the end of 2023.
When the project is completed, more than 700 farmers operating on 810 hectares of land in the Essex Valley region will benefit from an irrigation system that will deliver 1,700 cubic metres of water per hour.
Mr. Spence added that farmers will also benefit from associated marketing facilities and farmer advisory services.
For her part, EVADP project Manager, Petronia Colley, told the meeting that M&M Jamaica Limited has been contracted to lay pipes for the irrigation network.
“They would have started purchasing the equipment… so once the pipes have landed and the contractors [are in place, we are ready to go,” she said.
EVADP is being funded with a £35,515-million grant from the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund and administered by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
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CONTACT: NICKIETA STERLING
JIS REGIONAL OFFICE
MONTEGO BAY
