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Home | Back Street and Grass Piece farm roads opened in Northwest Manchester
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr cuts the ribbon to the Back Street farm road as State Minister, while the Honourable Franklin Witter 2nd right) and Member of Parliament for Northwest Manchester, Mr. Mikael Phillips (left) and Acting Chief Executive Officer for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Mr. Winston Simpson (right)look on. The occasion was the National Farm Road Rehabilitation Programme Official Farm Roads Opening held at the Back Street and Grass Piece, Manchester, on Thursday, December 15,2022.
Over 100 farmers in Northwest Manchester are now better able to transport their produce to markets, with the rehabilitation of the Back Street and Grass Piece farm roads under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ National Farm Road Rehabilitation Programme.
The roads, which were in deplorable conditions and presented safety concerns, received much-needed improvements at a cost of $17.03M.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr, said the rehabilitation of the farm roads is an acknowledgement of the hard work of the farmers in the parish. He added that a very crucial component of growing rural Jamaica is through agricultural development such as the National Farm Road Rehabilitation Programme.
“It is important for us to continue our journey across Jamaica, rehabilitating as many roads as we can so that we can increase market access for you, our farmers, and improve how you will transport your produce,” he said.
Farmers in surrounding communities are also expected to benefit from the newly rehabilitated roads. This includes the communities of Bath, Somerset, Wilderness, Huntley that are located close to the Back Street district and Maidstone, Johns Hall, Glen Head and New Hope, which are in proximity to the Grass Piece district.
Manchester currently has 33,567 registered farmers, with crop production for the year 2021 being 109, 256 metric tonnes. Noting that the parish possesses vast potential for growth and development, Charles Jr said over $30M has been committed for the production of cops such as Irish potato, onion, sweet potato, sweet yam, benefiting over 680 farmers.
He further stated that there are 45 hectares of idle lands in Grass Piece and 54.5 hectares in Back Street (Wilderness) that can be used for agricultural production.
Meanwhile, State Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Franklin Witter, is calling on the members of the community to ensure that the roads are adequately maintained.
“When you put in the infrastructure one of the main things is the maintenance thereafter and you, the community, can play a very important role in maintaining this project,” Witter stated.
“I am imploring you to take care of it. Keep it clean, keep the drains clean, de-bush when it is necessary so that you will be able to facilitate the increased production that we expect from you the people of northwest Manchester.”
A total of $670M has been allocated for the fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to rehabilitate 71 farmroads islandwide with the intention of increasing market access and improving the transportation of produce for farmers.
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