Farmer who received donkey from PM grateful for road repair

St Elizabeth farmer Dionne Blake could not hide her joy as she walked on the newly paved segment of farm road in her community of Cornwall Top.

“I can get up in the morning now put on my fancy slippers and my feet don't get dirty. Before, I would have had to be dodging potholes and stones, and jumping all over the road, now I don't have to do that,” she told JIS News.

“Now I can skip a little, and even run if I feel like it, because I have a nice road [now],” Blake said.

She was speaking to JIS News at the opening of the first phase of the farm road rehabilitation project on Thursday, by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green.

Work on the second phase of the project, which is being done under the National Farm Road Rehabilitation Programme, is scheduled to be completed soon.

Blake, who cultivates pumpkin, sorrel, corn, peanuts and rears chickens, received a donkey from Prime Minister, Dr Andrew Holness, in July last year after requesting the pack animal to carry produce and other items to and from her farm, due to the poor state of the road.

She also received a backpack pesticide sprayer and poultry defeathering equipment as well as one-year scholarships for two of her children, who are attending secondary school.

Blake recalled the difficulty she experienced traversing the roadway and notes that with the repairs done, her donkey, whom she named 'Prosperity', “does not have to carry as much load as before”.

She thanked all the stakeholders for their role in the undertaking, which will benefit the entire community.

“Thank you for ensuring that me and my family have better road conditions and for making sure that my younger children can come up and enjoy the road as well. The other children that are going out in the mornings, I know that they are so happy to know that when they get ready for school, they can go out with the assurance that they will not get muddy,” Blake said.

Green noted that the work done on the road was in response to the needs expressed by the farmers in the area.

He commended Blake for her persistence, noting that the roadway was earmarked for rehabilitation prior to her bringing the matter to national attention.

“Sometimes, we have an opportunity and we allow it to pass. I remember the story quite well, how far Dionne came from just to speak to the Prime Minister and to say to the Prime Minister that this is what she needs. She never asked for more than she needed, she asked for exactly what she needed to help her in her agricultural enterprise,” Green said.

For his part, Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport and Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth Northwestern, JC Hutchinson, commended Green and his team for “the good work that you have been doing in agriculture”.

He made reference to the Ministry's swift response in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in ensuring the recovery of the sector.

“It is the first time after we have had a disaster that we have been able to get back on our feet [so quickly]. The farmers got back on their feet so quickly. I want to congratulate the Minister and his team for doing yeoman's work in getting that going,” Hutchinson said.

He also commended Blake for her part in bringing attention to the Cornwall Top road.

“Miss Dionne, you have done proud for your community. You have made sure that you asked the Prime Minister for what you want, and the Prime Minister has delivered what you want,” he said.

More than $800 million has been allocated to rehabilitate 61 farm roads across the island over the next year.

Some 21 roadways have been completed, while contracts have been signed for the repair of 46 others.

Between 2019 and 2023, more than $2 billion was spent on farm roads across the island.

- JIS News

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