On Tuesday, July 8, the Jamaica Observer will publish a special supplement on the hurricane season in its online edition. Log on to www.jamaicaobserver.com to check out the supplement which will provide readers with storm predictions for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, insights on preparedness of different sectors, and expectations on heat and rainfall levels during the June to November 30 rainy period. This is one of the many stories in the supplement.

DESPITE their best efforts to prepare for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, some banana farmers say there’s only so much they can do to protect their farms from the high winds and flooding that accompany it.

Noel Clarke and Hermine Campbell, who both suffered significant losses during Hurricane Beryl last July, say they are doing what they can — clearing drains, trimming trees, and bracing for impact.

“Every year at this time you start thinking about the hurricane season, but how much can you prepare? There’s very little or nothing you can do to prevent the plant from falling down in even a category two hurricane, or even a category one. If the hurricane hits you just have to try and restore the farm — start chopping up the field and put it back together because there’s absolutely nothing you can do. You can’t tie the tree so it won’t fall; it will break,” Clarke told the Jamaica Observer.

Clarke, who operates a 90-acre banana farm in St Mary, said 90 per cent of his farm was affected by Hurricane Beryl, a powerful Category Four storm that made landfall on the island on July 3 of last year.

“I got at least a 90 per cent hit. But the day after the hurricane I started preparing the field for the next crop — just started chopping and trying to salvage whatever food I could. We started preparing for the next crop right away,” he shared.

However Campbell, who manages a 20-acre farm, also in St Mary, said her recovery has been slower.

“Well, Beryl came from the west, and due to the location of my farm in the valley we are usually spared because most hurricanes come from the north or north-east. [But] it [Beryl] really did a number on it. I still haven’t fully recovered. Some fields are still not up to scratch,” she said.

For Campbell, drain cleaning and tree management are top priorities going into the hurricane season.

“There’s hardly much we can do apart from the Catastrophe Fund we contribute to annually, based on our acreage. In the event of a hurricane, depending on the available funds, we who subscribe can benefit. But, one thing we do know is that we must get our drains in order,” she said.

“If we receive a lot of rain and the field becomes waterlogged, the plants will suffer — so that’s one. Another is tree control: We have a lot of coconut trees, and the wind often breaks them or knocks them down. We try to cut back trees that are not very beneficial, like the chin-chin tree and others,” Campbell added.

Hurricane Beryl caused significant damage to the banana and plantain sector, with reported losses of $2.4 billion or 74 per cent of the crops. This resulted in a shortage of bananas and plantains across the island.

Banana chip manufacturers, who heavily rely on local farmers, were also impacted.

Adrian Grant, managing director of Native Food Packers Limited, producers of Chippies Banana Chips, said recovery has been slow.

“We’re still recovering from last year. We’d typically be bringing in 40,000 to 50,000 pounds of bananas weekly [but] at one point we were down to 5,000 or less. Now, we’re back to maybe 20,000. So in terms of recovery, we’re not quite there yet,” he said.

He explained that outdoor crops like bananas can’t be fully protected.

“There isn’t much you can do to shield them. Even if you build a structure around them, it’s likely to blow down,” Grant said.

He noted that although the company owns its own farm, it continues to depend heavily on small farmers to meet demand.

“We don’t produce enough bananas ourselves to supply Jamaica and all the other places we export to. We rely a lot on small farmers,” he added.

Grant shared with the Observer that banana importation is a fallback option.

“Importing is an option — we’ve done it before when there were back-to-back hurricanes — but we’re known for producing and packaging everything here in Jamaica,” he said.

Meanwhile Mario Figueroa, general manager of JP Farms, one of the country’s leading producers of bananas and plantains, is cautiously optimistic ahead of the heights of the hurricane season.

“We’re not expecting major disruption in our banana supply this season — unless there’s a direct hit,” he said.

Figueroa further outlined several preparation strategies that JP Farms has been executing ahead of the season, which include short-, long- and medium-term plans.

“We have short-, medium-, and long-term strategies in place — from reinforcing cable structures to using biological enhancers, and planting windbreaks. We’re not just preparing for this season, we’re building long-term resilience,” Figueroa said.

He added that the company also has facilities to harvest and store bananas short-term, if needed.

“If an event occurs we can store fruit in our cold rooms for a couple of weeks to a month. After a storm there’s often a short-term surplus of fruit, and we’re equipped to manage that.”

Despite losing 98 per cent of its crop to Hurricane Beryl, JP Farms was able to resume production six weeks ahead of schedule thanks to what Figueroa attributed to a fast recovery plan and dedicated staff.

“We started producing again six weeks earlier than expected. We have strong programmes in place for recovery, but it still takes time to rehabilitate. You have to go plant by plant to replant and treat them,” he said.

Janet Conie, manager of The Banana Board in Jamaica, said the board continues to work with farmers to build disaster resilience and prepare for the season.

“As a routine, we have a disaster management strategy. It involves not just managing the catastrophe fund but also training farmers in how to prepare their plantations in advance,” Conie said.

She emphasised the importance of early preparation.

“Waterlogging is a major issue, so drains must be cleaned before the season starts. And, bananas have a mother plant and follower plants. Farmers must ensure the daughter plant — the next generation — is above waist height. If the mother plant falls, the daughter can continue the crop cycle,” Conie said.

She also pointed to pest control as a key post-storm concern.

“One disease that tends to spread after hurricanes is leaf spot, so we encourage spraying to prevent disease build-up. And, they must keep their plants healthy by fertilising — especially applying fertiliser in split doses and burying it to minimise leaching during the rainy season,” Conie said.

A significant challenge facing the sector, she noted, is a shortage of manual labour.

“Across Jamaican agriculture, labour is scarce. Many farmers have the land and crops but not the workers to maintain them. Some older farmers and women can’t manage the labour-intensive work and must hire help, which is costly,” Conie said.

She urged more farmers to join the Catastrophe Fund, which offers financial assistance following major storm damage, noting that registration remains low.

“Every farmer should be registered with the fund but last year, fewer than 100 benefited, even though many more were affected. Still, almost all registered farmers received support,” she said.

Established in 2007, the Catastrophe Fund is managed by the Banana Board and was designed to speed up recovery in the wake of natural disasters.

JP Farms General Manager Mario Figueroa (left) and Hewitt Bryan, special project support officer, JP Farms, work together to replant uprooted banana trees following Hurricane Beryl.

CONIE…waterlogging is a major issue, so drains must be cleaned before the season starts