AS the government continues to push its farm-to-market initiative, several critical farming community roads are being upgraded in an effort to facilitate easy transportation of produce. At least four such roads are slated to be completed by the end of March 2021, according to Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar. Works on these structures are ongoing in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six. The Free and Easy Access Road in Region Three is being rehabilitated at a cost of $278,351,952; it is approximately 30 per cent completed. In Region Four, Lot Three of the De Hoop, Mahaica Access Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD) is being constructed by Shereza Bacchus Contracting Company at a cost of $53,390,950; this project is currently progressing at 80 per cent completion.
The often-deplorable Burma Road in Mahaicony, ECD, is being repaired at a cost of $45,422,699; these works are being executed by KP Thomas and Sons, standing at 20 per cent completed. KP Thomas and Sons is also carrying out rehabilitative works on sections of the Black Bush Polder Road, which is currently 60 per cent complete, and is being constructed at a cost of $9,857,000.

The start date for the projects in Regions Four, Five and Six was given as December 2, 2020, and are slated to be completed promptly on March 31, 2021. As part of its continuous and comprehensive efforts, the Ministry of Public Works has indicated its commitment to focussing on the construction and maintenance of key roads within various farming communities. Meanwhile, the Region Five Democratic Council had indicated its intention to aggressively push for the rehabilitation of key roads in several farming communities, including Mahaicony Branch Road and a section of the Number 27 road. During a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Chairman of Region Five, Vickchand Ramphal, said that enhancing these roads would reduce commuting time and increase farmers’ overall production. “Knowing that Region Five is the largest rice-producing region in the country, it was imperative to address some areas to push the development of the sector and so we identified several farm-to-market roads to be rehabilitated since they were in a dilapidated state, over the past years,” Ramphal said.
He added that the administration also intends to rehabilitate Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary/Agricultural Development Authority scheme to improve its infrastructure.
“We would have seen several dams graded and shaved as well as the canals and trenches within the cultivation area being cleared and cleaned, which has led to better irrigation in the farming areas. This, of course, is a great boost for our region and our farmers,” the Regional Chairman indicated.

He reiterated the government’s goal is to restore Guyana as the ‘breadbasket of the Caribbean’ by making the necessary investments and providing technical, financial and other support to the agriculture sector. The efforts to commence works on Mahaicony Branch Road can be seen as an answer to the years-old plight for better roads. Only recently, businessman, Navin Singh of WW Branch Road lamented the need for better roads, since the rapidly deteriorating road has posed significant challenges to rice formers. He also emphasised the need for authorities to take into consideration the needs of the road and the importance of ensuring that the structures are durable enough to withstand heavy-duty machinery. In December, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, told Region Five farmers that the administration intends to develop more lands to double rice production in the next five years. To this end, the ministry has installed several drainage pumps which have already started to reduce the level of flooding due to seasonal rains.

Ramphal said this measure is exactly what the Region needs to push the sector’s development, while reducing the adversity farmers and residents face. In the 2020 Budget, the ministry made allocations for the installation of a new pump at Trafalgar, which will enable the operationalisation of four pumps at the station in keeping with its design. Provisions were also made for 12 high-capacity drainage pumps to be installed in the region. As part of the government’s $383.1 billion budget for 2021, a sum of $25.6 billion has been allocated towards improving infrastructure of roads and bridges throughout the country. In presenting the budget back in February, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, said that a total of $23.7 billion will be spent on roads, while some $1.9 billion will go specifically towards bridges. The monies will facilitate upgrades to a number of existing structures, as well as finance the commencement of several others. “An amount of $3.5 billion has been allocated for the commencement of the Linden to Mabura Hill Road and tenders will be launched in the first quarter. Further, a sum of $150 million has been budgeted for sectional rehabilitation of the Linden – Soesdyke Highway,” Dr. Singh had indicated.