New Hanover RADA office to be occupied soon

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE MANAGEMENT and staff of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Hanover office are highly anticipating their new office complex, which is being constructed in the Haughton Court area of Lucea, in the parish, and is now about 98 per cent complete.

According to staff members, the new complex will present a better working environment – both for themselves and the farmers of the parish who they serve – in contrast to their present rented temporary location on Watson Taylor Drive in Lucea.

“We are overly excited about occupying the new facilities, because, right now, where we are at is not conducive to optimal operations. We have a lot of noise pollution in particular, coming from the movement of vehicles along the nearby roadway. The indiscipline of the motorcycles with the mufflers backfiring is wreaking havoc on our ears, and we do not have much privacy,” Raymond Reid, Hanover RADA parish manager, told The Gleaner during an interview.

“In terms of accommodation for us and our farmers, the current space where we are at is limited. In the new office being constructed, we will have a lot of space and it will be a more relaxing environment. So we are all in high anticipation of moving,” he continued.

The new office complex is being constructed on the grounds of the original RADA office space in Haughton Court, and is being done because the original RADA office was ordered closed because of the deplorable conditions that existed. The old office was later demolished and ground broken for construction of the new complex in January 2020.

Morris Hill Limited received a contract for approximately $108 million to construct the new complex.

According to Reid, work being carried out by the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company Limited is holding up transition into the new facility.

“What is holding up the completion of the project there and its occupation is that the JPS is in the process now of upgrading the power supply to that property. Within the next two or so weeks, I was reliably informed that JPS should have started and complete the upgrading process by then. So maybe by mid-February, based on the information that was passed on to me, the JPS should have completed that process,” Reid stated.

He reasoned that, whereas the limited space that the RADA officers occupy now has not affected the services being offered by the office too seriously, the new office complex should lead to an uptick in output, both from the extension officers and farmers.

INCREASED PRODUCTION

With some 6,000 registered farmers within the parish of Hanover, there are approximately five extension officers, four extension assistants, one marketing officer, a lifestock officer and a home economics and social services officer working out of the RADA office to service those farmers. The parish is divided into five extension areas, namely Miles Town, Cascade, Hopewell, Lucea and Green Island.

“Our clients’ (farmers) comfort is at our forefront right now. In terms of programmes and projects, we are pushing some priority crops that are market-driven, which the Ministry of Agriculture (and Fisheries) is investing in,” Reid stated, adding that the new facilities will offer a more comfortable and conducive environment for increased production.

He also issued a word of encouragement for more youngsters and women to fully utilise the services offered by RADA and to take up farming, noting that it can prove to be very beneficial.

Easton Edwards, councillor for the Lucea division in the Hanover Municipal Corporation, which also covers the RADA Lucea extension area, was also upbeat about the construction of the new RADA facility.

“RADA’s mandate is to improve agriculture and, by extension, improve the lives of farmers. With this new building, there will be room for more extension officers, more outreach activities and so, with more space, more can be done and achieved. I am seeing for the future serious improvement in agriculture across the parish moving forward,” he stated.

Albert McKenzie, a farmer, also told The Gleaner that he, too, is looking forward to “better facilities” at the new office complex in which to consult with his extension officer, “separate and apart from when they meet in the fields”.