SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth

A “preliminary estimate” by parish manager for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) in St Elizabeth, Elton Bent, is placing damage to agriculture in the parish as a result of Hurricane Dean at about $90 million.

The fast-moving Category Four storm brushed Jamaica’s south on Sunday, August 19 causing three deaths and widespread devastation.

While emphasising yesterday that “all the figures are yet to come in” Bent told the Observer West that in his estimation most of the damage to agriculture in St Elizabeth, possibly as much as $60 million, had been done to pulses, vegetables, condiments (including escallion, thyme and peppers), fruits, cereals and ground provisions.

Bent said there had also been extensive damage to the livestock sub-sector including broiler chickens, layers, pigs, beef cattle, sheep, goats and rabbits as well as greenhouses.

The southern half of the parish was identified by the RADA parish manager as being hardest hit though chicken farmers mainly located in the centre including the Santa Cruz area also suffered extensively.

For Bent, one good thing was that many vegetable farmers were still at the stage of preparing their land and were yet to put in crops when Hurricane Dean struck.

“Because many farmers were still preparing their land and had not yet put their crops in the ground, I don’t think the damage to crops is as bad as Hurricane Ivan (which three years ago followed a course similar to Hurricane Dean),” said Bent.

He was quick to emphasise, however, that the damage to farm buildings – including those housing chickens and animals – triggered by Dean’s powerful winds “could be worse” than Ivan.