The hit taken by Jamaica’s coffee farmers from Hurricane Melissa goes far deeper than economics, Norman Grant, a veteran of the sector and one of its strongest advocates, has argued. “There’s a sense of depression and frustration. Every time you build, you then break [as] there’s another setback and we keep hearing that, you know, we are resilient, but it’s very, very tough to just keep fighting back,” Grant, chairman of Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association, lamented in an interview with the Jamaica Observer last Friday.

Stating that the coffee industry has not had a chance to fully recover from setbacks over the last four years, as the effects of climate change continue to batter production, Grant said the emotional strain of repeated loss has left many farmers struggling with the concept of returning to normalcy.

“I think at some point in time counselling sessions are going to be critical. The real support is going to have to be ensuring that there’s some encouragement given and some incentive to our farming population,” he said, adding that the estimated loss to the sector over the past four years stood at $2.5 billion, while coffee farmers in the Blue Mountains took a hit of approximately $1 billion from Hurricane Melissa.

“The $1 billion is just the estimated loss, it could increase. As we go along, the loss sustained may rise in the next 12 months because many of the trees were also lost,” said Grant.

He suggested a multi-faceted approach to recovery, prioritising both the mental and financial needs of the agricultural workers who, he claimed, are often not shown adequate support in times of need.

“We have to be very mindful that we don’t only focus on the resilience of the people of Jamaica and the farmers in particular, the rural citizens, because I don’t think we have an appreciation for the contribution of rural development. Sometimes, the rural development agenda, the folks in rural Jamaica, the citizens, are always at the back of the line and are always waiting and we need to find a way to put this idea aside about us being resilient and get the support out there,” Grant argued.

He said that in times of disaster, recovery, and healing, mental health is paramount. As such he is calling on the Ministry of Agriculture to deliver to farmers struggling with repeated financial loss and trauma the support needed to return to production.

“We know that the minister of agriculture has his hands full, but the coffee industry is struggling as a result of climate change, and just the farm gate value alone, you’ll be looking at $2.5 billion. So it is so tough, and people are going through a lot of trauma, and therefore I think what is going to energise the farmers is how quickly we can extend this recovery programme to them and assist the rebuilding efforts,” he said.