For nearly two years, farmers in Gran Couva have been living with the heartbreak of watching their livelihoods slip away with every passing day that the Gran Couva Main Road remains in a dilapidated condition.
Now, they say the work has abruptly stopped, and there is no word on what is happening.
Disaster struck in November 2022, when a landslide tore the vital roadway apart. Since then, the farmers of the Montserrat Cocoa Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited (MCFCSL) said they have lost millions of dollars.
While their crops still grow and their cocoa beans still ferment, without a proper road, their efforts wither before even reaching the market.
Diane Chinpire, the cooperative’s secretary, yesterday said, “Work started, yes, but then it stopped. One day there are machines, the next day they’re gone, and no one tells us anything.”
The annual harvest begins in October, usually a time of pride and anticipation for the 60 farmers who together produce 120 tonnes of fine flavour beans. Instead, it has become a season of dread.
Large container trucks can no longer reach the cooperative’s headquarters. Farmers must now load their beans onto smaller vehicles, take them over the failing Cameron Road bypass, and then reload them again at Namdevco’s Piarco facility for export.
“It’s draining us,” Chinpire admitted.
“The bypass is already cracking, and it cannot take heavy trucks. Every trip costs money.”
Farmers said the hardship has crept into every corner of their lives. Domestic tourism, once a lifeline, has all but dried up. They said visitors who came for tours and chocolate tasting no longer make the journey. Sales of the cooperative’s chocolate bars have dropped, and with them the sense of pride that sustained these families.
“You plant, you care for the trees, you do everything right. But in the end, it doesn’t matter if the road is gone,” she said.
The Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation has acknowledged the issue. Chairman Ryan Rampersad pointed to the Ministry of Works as the responsible authority.
Caroni Central MP David Lee has pleaded for urgent repairs, saying this is “one of many roads” he has flagged as a high priority.
