Fix it! - St Mary farmers appeal for better roads

FELLOWSHIP HALL, St Mary:

Farmers in several communities in St Mary are appealing to the municipal corporation to fix the roads they have to use to get their produce to market.

Road conditions in areas such as New Ramble, Comma, Fellowship Hall, Hamilton Mountain, Fontabelle and Union Hill, among others, are irking residents in general, but farmers say they, in particular, are being severely impacted.

Kenroy Sterling of Union Hill, is one such farmer.

"The road condition dangerous, mon, di road well waa work pan," Sterling told The Gleaner on Tuesday. Sterling, who farms crops such as plantain, banana, tomato and pepper, said that whether he goes out to sell or vendors come to his farm, the impact is the same.

"Mi drive a pickup, but mi haffi tek time gallang, an' even then, it mash up every minute; di road dem waa work pon."

Another farmer, Robert Wells, of New Ramble, whose farm consists of bananas, plantains, pumpkins, Scotch bonnet peppers, papaya, and other small crops, said since acquiring the property 25 years ago, no meaningful work has been done on the road in that area of the parish.

BROKEN PROMISES

"It's shocking, the roads are awful," he lamented. "The roads are in a deplorable state and a lot of work needs to be done. We get promises by local authorities, councillors, politicians, and it just stays the same or gets worse, and nothing's been done, just a few patch-patch here and there.

"Getting the goods out to market, taxi drivers, private small farmers, the front end of their vehicles just get completely knocked out; children have to walk and go to school, mash up their shoes, everything takes a hit. I've been here 25 years and there has been no meaningful work, just patching."

Wells said he had to import parts from the United Kingdom to repair his pickup and has spent over £4,000 on repairs so far.

A young farmer from Ramble, who said he has been farming since he was 14, told The Gleaner: "The road in very, very bad condition. When people come to buy from mi, dem always a complain bout di road."

Praedial larceny

Apart from the poor condition of the roads, some farmers say they are also being affected by praedial larceny.

Drivers of public passenger and private motor vehicles said they, too, are being severely impacted by the poor road conditions, with some taxi drivers refusing to drive on certain roadways.

Meanwhile, there are indications that some communities are benefiting from a temporary fix, as it was evident on some roadways that marl was recently used to fill some potholes.

rural@gleanerjm.com