When Will Sugar Roads Be Fixed?

Jose Mai

The Government of Belize recently promised as much as three hundred thousand dollars to fix sugar roads in the North. These roads provide access and transportation from many of the remote villages for farmers bringing crops to market, or sugar to the mill. But quite a few are in poor condition, and in the case of San Carlos which we visited today, can be practically impassable due to large potholes and other obstructions. Orange Walk South area representative Jose Mai has been in touch with Works Minister Rene Montero and has twice recently raised the issue in the House of Representatives. But with the government dragging its feet, he made another plea today, citing losses in production as a result.

Jose Mai, Area Rep., Orange Walk South

“What is shameful is to look at the conditions of the road that farmers have to travel to get this product out. This just adds to a continuously increasing cost of producing. You witnessed, you drove the road and you saw how bad the situation is. The same goes for the corn producers: they produce corn here in thousands of acres, millions of pounds of corn that has to be transported two hours and a half through bad conditions, deteriorated road conditions. And I have brought this up in the House already and it doesn’t seem that they want to repair or to upgrade the road. It clearly shows that the government does not prioritize the agriculture sector.”

The paved road running from the center of Orange Walk Town through Yo Creek, August Pine Ridge and other villages ends at the turn-off to Indian Church and San Carlos.