KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has established an emergency fund to assist the agriculture sectors of the four Caribbean nations most impacted by Hurricane Melissa.

In a release on Monday, IICA shared that the Governments of The Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, which have suffered significant losses in recent days, have already received the funds.

These funds are intended to support emergency actions, rehabilitation and rapid recovery in the countries most affected by the extreme weather event.

Manuel Otero, IICA’s director general, expressed solidarity with the affected nations in letters sent to Limber Cruz, Dominican Republic’s minister of agriculture; Floyd Green, Jamaica’s minister of agriculture, fisheries and mining; Joseph Vernet, Haiti’s minister of agriculture, natural resources and rural development; and Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources of The Bahamas.

Otero emphasised that IICA delegations in each country will maintain close contact with local ministries to determine the most effective ways to disburse the resources and restore the “productive capacities” of the agriculture sector.

“We decided to quickly turn solidarity into action with an emergency fund for the countries hardest hit, which we will be accompanied by technical resources designed to mitigate the effects on farms and farmers and their working tools,” Otero said.

IICA noted that the Caribbean requires special attention due to its vulnerability to natural disasters, dependence on food imports and smaller-scale agriculture, which is less competitive. The institute has implemented projects aimed at “strengthening resilience to climate events, reducing food insecurity and promoting international cooperation and financing approach”.

IICA also pointed to its Hemispheric Fund for Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability in the Americas (FoHRSA), launched in 2024 with an initial investment of US$2 million, as part of ongoing efforts to support agriculture in the region.