Jamaica’s Agriculture Sector Faces $621 Million Loss After Tropical Storm Rafael

The agriculture sector in Jamaica has suffered another significant setback in its recovery efforts following the damage caused by Tropical Storm Rafael last week.

The storm, which brought heavy rainfall and widespread flooding, has left several key parishes including Manchester, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, St. Ann, St. Mary, St. Catherine, and Westmoreland severely affected.

Preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture suggest that the storm caused approximately $621 million in damage.

This includes the loss of 364 hectares of crops, valued at around $200 million, and severe flooding that has resulted in landslides and waterlogging across affected areas.

Crops such as bananas, vegetables, plantains, and fruits were particularly hard hit. The losses have impacted over 5,000 farmers, with banana and vegetable farmers among the hardest affected.

Poultry farmers were also hit hard, as many of their livestock were lost in the storm’s aftermath.

The government is still assessing the impact on food supplies and has yet to determine whether it will need to import fruits and vegetables to meet demand for the upcoming Christmas holidays.

While the Ministry of Agriculture’s first priority is to boost local production, the government has indicated that imports will be considered as a last resort if there are significant shortfalls in local supply.

In addition to crop losses, farm roads across the island were severely damaged, with repairs estimated to cost $382 million. A total of 191 farm roads, critical for transporting goods from farms to markets, were impacted by the storm.

As the government looks to address these challenges, some lawmakers have suggested reevaluating how farm roads are constructed to reduce future damage.

Mikael Phillips, Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western, called for consideration of concrete as a material for rehabilitating farm roads, arguing that this could be more cost-effective in the long term, given the changing weather patterns and increasing frequency of storms.

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