KINGSTON, Jamaica —The  preliminary estimate of the damage done to Jamaica’s agriculture and fisheries sectors as a result of the impact of Hurricane Beryl on July 3, has been put at $5.7 billion.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Floyd Green, gave the update on Tuesday in a statement in the House of Representatives.

Green told his colleagues that approximately 23,040 hectares of farmland was affected, impacting over 48,850 farmers.

More than 323,000 animals were lost, including small ruminants, poultry and cattle.

“The up-to-date assessments put the financial loss to the agriculture sector at $4.73 billion,” Green said.

He remarked, “The devastation from Hurricane Beryl to the agriculture and fisheries sector is extensive, affecting several parishes, with the most severely affected being St Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon, Westmoreland, and St Catherine, representing some of our most productive agricultural zones.”

Noting that the hurricane’s wrath spared little in the country’s agricultural sector, Green said “domestic crops saw us losing approximately 18,700 hectares of our vegetable lines, with damage estimated at $1.95 billion, affecting 40,500 farmers.”

The crops that were most significantly impacted are: sweet pepper, tomato, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, melon and cantaloupe.

Banana and plantain crops covering 1,780 hectares saw losses estimated at $385 million, impacting 1,640 farmers. Fruit trees, covering 890 hectares, saw estimated damage of $337 million, affecting 1,470 farmers, while tuber crops (yams, cassava etc.), covering 1,670 hectares, recorded losses in the amount of $524 million, impacting 1,120 farmers.

Green said the poultry sector was severely hit, with 43,000 layers and 278,000 broilers lost, amounting to $248 million in losses. Also, 980 small ruminants, 514 pigs, and 278 cattle were lost, with combined losses of $102.5 million.

The apiculture sector lost 640 bee colonies, amounting to $12.8 million in losses.

In terms of infrastructure, 236 greenhouses, covering 688,000 square feet, have been damaged, with losses estimated at $856 million. And 62.8 km of farm roads were damaged, with repair costs estimated at $165 million.

The fisheries sector was also hit hard, with approximately 11,200 fishers impacted. The majority lost fishing gear in the form of traps and nets estimated at a significant $1 billion.

Numerous fishing beaches in the most-affected parishes have suffered infrastructural damage estimated at $64 million.