KINGSTON, Jamaica- A total of $40 million worth of fertiliser has been distributed to support banana and plantain farmers whose crops were devastated by Hurricane Beryl on July 3.

“This support will benefit 2,490 affected farmers with an established crop area of 2,340 hectares,” said Agriculture Minister Floyd Green in a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

He noted that the industry, which contributes over J$13 billion annually to the economy, was severely impacted by the hurricane.

“Detailed assessments revealed that approximately 64 per cent of the crops in production were damaged, translating to over $1.8 billion needed to resuscitate the crops and achieve normal levels of production within seven to nine months,” Green noted.

He said an additional $38 million has been allocated to the Banana Board, which will help to specifically reach small banana and plantain farmers whose data has been collected through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

“This distribution has commenced through the collaboration of the Banana Board and RADA,” Green said.

Meanwhile, to mitigate storm risks, the Banana Board continues to provide technical support and also implement the Banana Industry Catastrophe Fund (BICF) with the support of the European Union.

According to the minister, 79 farms, covering 767.67 acres were registered under the BICF in 2024. Of these, 73 farms, consisting of 563.13 acres, suffered catastrophic damage, exceeding the 50 per cent damage threshold.

Green said that at its July 16 meeting, the Banana Catastrophe Fund Oversight Committee approved the agronomist’s recommendation to compensate 73 of the 79 farmers registered with fertiliser inputs. The recommended amount was five bags per hectare or two bags per acre totaling J$11.9 m illion.

The minister said the compensation equates to J$50,000 per hectare which is comparable to the compensation provided for previous events.