Conditions prior to the Sub-project implementation
The Lively Farm Road is located on a hillside overlooking the rural community of Diamonds Village. Access to the area was difficult by foot in all-weather as the gravel path was steep, narrow and overgrown with vegetation. There was no proper drainage and channelling of the large volume of water that rushed down the hillside during the rainy season. Residents in the village below feared for their homes, property and welfare whenever it rained. Vehicles could not access the area and farmers had to manually carry agricultural inputs to their farm and it was onerous to get their produce safely down to market. The lack of a paved road negatively affected both the number of farmers who remained in active production as well as the scale at which the farmers were willing to invest even though the area had prime fertile land.
The Lively area has been classified as a special Agri-ecological Zone for the production of root crops: one of three such zones in the country. This area has been earmarked for a special import substitution project through the Ministry of Agriculture to assist farmers operating in the Lively area to produce commodities, such as onions, assorted vegetables and white potatoes, viewed as contributing significantly to the reduction in the country’s food import bill. Additionally, this area was once a thriving banana producing area supporting over 300 farm workers and farmers in the 90’s. With the government now receiving assistance from Taiwan for bananas; this area is considered ‘rested’ and ideal for replanting.
Scope of Works
The Lively Farm Road was completed on May 21st, 2021 and consisted of two-way traffic reinforced concrete roads and extensive box and slippers drains. The construction length of the footpath was 1,530ft and the average width was 14 ft. The final cost for this project was XCD $630,789.00.
Outcomes/Impact
- 810 persons (396M, 414F) benefitted from this sub-project.
- The construction of the road revitalized farming in the community as thirty-one (31) farmers returned to agricultural production to enhanced their livelihoods. The farmlands in this community are identified by the Ministry of Agriculture for the expansion of commercial food crops further enhancing the sustainability of the livelihoods.
- Farmers and other pedestrians reported it was much easier to navigate the roadway on foot, especially when it rained; as prior to the construction of the road the path at times would become impassable and farmers sometimes were unable to go to work.
- Some farmers have enlarged the scale of production as before there was no vehicular access and it was an arduous, time consuming and costly task to manually carry inputs to and bring produce from the farms. As a result of the widened, paved road, vehicles of all types including trucks are able to easily transport agricultural inputs to the farms and produce to the market with time and cost savings.
- The extensive drainage constructed channelled the flow of water into an existing waterway and reduced the risk of flooding both on the farms and the lower lying community residences. In the past, the free flow of water affected persons yards and homes and several elderly residents had expressed their fears of land slippage.
