KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaicans will face food shortages in the aftermath of Hurricane Berylwhich is estimated to have destroyed more than $6.4 million worth of food crops and supporting infrastructure, Jamaican officials said Monday.
Floyd GreenJamaica’s agriculture minister said preliminary assessments indicate significant damage to crops, including vegetables, tubers such as yams and cassava, and fruits such as breadfruit, ackee, mango and banana, which are popular food sources.
He said the livestock and fishing sectors were also significantly affected by the record storm that unleashed tumultuous winds and rain as it traveled west near the south coast of Jamaica last week on its way to the Cayman Islands, Mexico and Texas.
“We saw about 85% of our bananas and our banana lines fall in Portland and St Mary,” Green said after visiting farms in the southern parish of St Elizabeth.
Yam farmers in southern Trelawny requested assistance because they reported significant damage to their operations.
“We understand that a quick response is needed at this time and we know that our farmers are out there and fortunately, they are resilient,” Green said. “They are planning to return to agriculture and we in the ministry (of agriculture and fisheries) will be willing to help them.”
The Jamaican Agriculture Minister said farmers growing in greenhouses in the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth have been hit hard.
“This will be a big blow to our vegetable lines,” Green said.
Small poultry farmers suffered extensive damage to chicken coops, he said.
On Monday, Glendon Harris, former president of the farmer lobby Jamaica Agricultural Society, predicted that damage to the agricultural sector will result in a disruption of the island’s food supply chain.
“We will see a shortage of some of our staple foods,” Harris said. “St Elizabeth is the known breadbasket, and Manchester is close behind, so based on the impact they have taken, this will affect market-ready food across the island.”
The Jamaican government continues to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl, which caused widespread damage primarily along the south coast of Jamaica. Beryl diminished into tropical storm, hitting Texas on Monday, after hitting Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Three people were killed in Grenada, three in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that the organization is supporting authorities to help access clean water, shelter, food and health services, sending teams to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Jamaica.
