THE Minister of Agriculture for St Vincent and the Grenadines Saboto Caesar has painted a grim picture of the devastation Hurricane Beryl left on the islands, and in particular on the agriculture sector. That country’s economy is largely based on agriculture, with its banana sector the most important.

Assessment of damage done to the islands is yet to be carried out but Caesar gave a preliminary evaluation.

“In my 14 years as minister this is the most devastating disaster that I have ever experienced in terms of the winds and the damage that it has caused, especially to the banana and plaintain sectors,” Caesar told the Jamaica Observer in a terse interview.

“Many farmers have recovered significantly from the volcanic eruptions, and it is in the early stages of this recovery that we are facing the onslaught of Hurricane Beryl. I want to say to the farmers of Jamaica that they must be very, very prepared; that they must protect themselves and their families first, and do the assessment for damage and loss after,” he added.

Caesar noted that many parts of St Vincent and the Grenadines remain without electricity and water, one day after the hurricane barrelled through on its way to Jamaica, and said technicians will be out in the field from Wednesday to carry out assessments of the damage that has been caused.

“My warning is that Jamaica should take this hurricane seriously. Be prepared. Put up your shutters. Don’t be ashamed, because I heard some persons saying ‘Oh, what you a behave so for? This is the land of the blessed.’ Now, you have to be prepared. Faith without works is dead. If it’s one time you need works with the faith, is now. I am asking Jamaica to take this seriously,” Caesar pleaded.

His earnest warning comes as Jamaica prepares for the impact of Beryl, which is the strongest hurricane on record at this time of the season. For this country’s agricultural sector,
plans are in place to help it recover quickly from the impact of the impending Hurricane Beryl.

Floyd Green, Jamaica’s agriculture minister, speaking in an interview Tuesday with the
Business Observer said plans went into gear for the hurricane season as early as January, and was intensified in recent weeks.

“For about two years now we have institutionalised a disaster risk management and mitigation structure in the ministry, so all our agencies have committees that have been having meetings since January,” Green said.

“Since Beryl what we have done is we’ve sent out our essential services, especially through RADA [Rural Agricultural Development Authority] and AIC [Agro-Investment Corporation], to work with farmers in flood-prone areas to see how we can help them with things like drainage and clearing waterways.”

He added that flood-prone agroparks like Ebony Park in Clarendon, Plaintain Garden River in St Thomas, and Amity Hall in St Catherine have been specially targeted.

“We’ve also dispatched our livestock officers to work with our livestock farmers to see how they can move animals, where necessary, to higher ground and see how they can help to reinforce structures like chicken houses. We sent out advisories to our greenhouse farmers advising them to do things like taking off the covers of the greenhouses, and again, strengthen the structures as we prepare for heavy winds and strong rains,” Green added as he assured “the team is fully mobilised and out”.

He said preparation work includes putting heavy equipment on standby in the coffee-growing belt of the Blue Mountains, to quickly clear landslides after the hurricane’s passage.

“We have a fair idea of most of the flood-prone areas so what we have asked the team to do is to go out and work with the farmers in those areas. In a lot of the areas there is so much we can do and no more, but the truth is: The more we can focus on mitigation work — again design our farms, roadways, and things of that nature — they can help,” he added, saying a number of areas that could be impacted have been targeted.

Much of the preparation and “institutionalised” disaster risk management and mitigation strategy is to head off the hefty losses that the agricultural sector has suffered in recent hurricanes and or flood events, which are becoming more frequent and less predictable.

Hurricanes have cost Jamaica’s agricultural sector billions in the past. The last event in 2022, Tropical Storm Ian, cost the sector $200 million — but that was a fraction of what weather systems have cost Jamaica.

Between 1996 and 2010 RADA reported $8 billion worth of crop damage from hurricanes, floods, drought and fire, with 84 per cent of the total due to hurricanes and tropical storms according to a 2017 study carried out by Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

In 2012 Hurricane Sandy cost $4 billion in losses and affected 40,000 farmers, the same study pointed out.

But Jamaica is taking proactive steps to mitigate some of the losses, to enable to country to recover quicker and prevent long-lasting price spikes due to shortages.

“One of the things we have gotten better at — because of the institutionalised disaster mitigation and risk management — is that we have started earlier. Each year now we are earmarked funds to provide disaster recovery. If you realise, in the last few years we have been able to respond in a quicker time frame because we have funds for disaster recovery; and one of the things that has helped us to do is put in place some procurement systems and try to procure in lieu of until the disaster comes. So when the disaster comes we are in a better position if we are to distribute things like chemicals to help our farmers deal with the onset of fungus and things of that nature — we have them at hand — and then for inputs like fertilisers and seeds for them to replant,” Green pointed out.

He said the ministry will continue to monitor and do assessments after Beryl “to see the extent of the damage and if we need supplemental sources”.

And farmers themselves are being encouraged to take things into their own hands. Apart from mitigation efforts, insurance has been promulgated to help those suffering from losses to recover. At least one insurer is now offering the product, though as it is now it is inadequate to deal with some of the issues farmers face.

“Their insurance product is structured in a particular manner, and I’ve actually started engaging them because, as it is now, they offer their insurance based on seasons. But part of what we are recognising is that the seasons are changing and, as such, it remains to be seen if we can get a year-long insurance — because when you don’t normally expect to see a storm of this nature so early in the season we have to look back at that structure,” Green said to the Business Observer.

“We are in discussion with another regional insurance provider to see if a product can be designed that our farmers can take advantage of,” he added as he noted the discussions “are far advanced”.

He said farmers are also being encouraged to engage in more resilient agricultural practices, including hydroponic systems that can be dismantled and reassembled very quickly.

“We have to continue training, we have to continue looking at innovation across the agricultural sector to ensure our farmers can better withstand these weather events that are becoming more severe and less predictable.”

For consumers, even better preparation.

Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s prime minister, said enough food is on the island to prevent any shortages that may be anticipated.

“We are in touch with the commercial trade to ensure we have sufficient stocks in place that persons can be able to at least have access to food and water after the hurricane has passed,” Holness told a press briefing on Monday.

Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) gave further details from a survey it did, also on Monday, to ascertain the food levels in the country. Racquel White, director of research at the CAC, said she called around to several manufacturers and distributors.

The survey was done as part of assessments under the disaster management manual for the distributive trade that requires distributors and manufacturers to provide information after an assessment, at the start of the hurricane season, of the buffer stock on hand, which should be at least one month.

“In terms of food supplies, we got responses from about seven of the major distributors/manufacturers and they have assured us that, at minimum, some have one month buffer stock and the best-case scenario [is that] at least one has up to seven months’ worth of grocery supplies,” White noted. Those items assessed include canned meats and vegetables, saltfish, rice, oil, flour, skimmed milk, infant formula, soaps and disinfectants.

She, however, said some things like crackers and bread could be in short supply, but water should be adequate. Most hardware supplies were also in adequate supply when White did the survey.

She added that there has been no indication from the public of retailers using the impending hurricane to overprice items or engage in any other behaviour that consumers may frown on.

“We have received no calls about people hoarding anything, marrying anything, or doing any uncompetitive or unethical behaviour in terms of products,” White said.

She pointed out that Consumer Affairs Commission usually does monthly surveys of grocery, petrol, and during the hurricane season it increases surveillance to add items that consumers would need during a hurricane, and said these provide a basis for comparing prices to see if any gouging is taking place.