SOME 35,000 farmers have benefited from paved and farm-to-market roads at Parika/Ruby, East Bank Essequibo; Laluni, Soesdyke/Linden Highway; and Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice.This was disclosed on Friday by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder during a review of the Access Dams/Roads Rehabilitation Project,
funded to the tune of US$9.09M under an agreement between the Government of Guyana and the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF), signed in July 2013.

A GINA report states the agreement was, in November 2015, amended to US$11.87M, of which the sum of US$3.49M is considered a grant. This was made possible by Guyana making its agreed contribution of US$3.5M to the CDF.

During the review, it was outlined that 7000 acres of arable land have been transformed into proper access roads which benefited approximately 9,500 farming households from the said areas. Farmers had, for years, complained about not being able to transport their produce due to the lack of access roads and so forth. The lack of roads and proper trails also led to farmers losing profit, and even losing the urge to expand their cultivation or even continue on their normal scale.

However, the minister declared, since completion of the roads, there has been a 25 per cent increase in land acreage under cash crop cultivation.
During a visit to Laluni earlier this year, the Guyana Chronicle was able to speak with village farmers, who explained the importance to them of having a proper access road.

Due to the inability to travel in and out of their location at affordable prices, they explained, they would at times spend more on transportation than the profits they earned. At that time, the project was still in its early stages; therefore, when asked how beneficial the road would be to them, the farmers had stated that they were very optimistic of an increase in profits and their level of cultivation.

Farmers have even added that apart from improving their methods of farming, proper access roads would also make it easier for their children to travel to and from school.

Meanwhile, besides enhancement and construction of the roads, the project also saw to improvement of drainage and irrigation, which the minister said would reduce flooding in the areas and help farmers to better manage their water supply.