Despite losing acres of crops to Hurricane Melissa, farmers in St Elizabeth say they are pushing ahead on their own, replanting their fields even as they express frustration that promised assistance has been slow or selective.

For Anthony Smith, a farmer from Ridge Pen, St Elizabeth, the hurricane destroyed all his melons and half an acre of plantain.

Smith said that although he reported the losses to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and was promised seeds and other support, there has been no follow-up.

“I make a report also to the RADA, them say them would get back to me and supply some seed and stuff like that. We no really see them, we nuh get no call or nothing,” Smith said.

Smith alleged that support for farmers is often politicised or biased, leaving out those who really need assistance.

“When things come down, and like if you get fertiliser and stuff like that there, it’s a pick and choose thing, you know, it’s a pick and choose thing, and a from the both side, politics,” Smith said.

“A just a while ago, we even talked about some care package weh them bring to give out, the people who give, to control it, a certain people they give,” the 63-year-old continued. “I don’t even really have no interest, because we done know how the system works, we just go through and do our own thing.”

Smith added that farmers in the area were promised support to plough their farms and restart production, but that too has yet to materialise.

“Them say them have a tractor out now to do free ploughing for six months. But we know seh whoever drives the tractor too, them ago go and plough special people, especially if they’re going to get a tip. So we as farmers no really get nothing up to date from RADA,” he said.

Despite the lack of support, Smith is determined to continue farming.

“As you can see, me a reap sweet potato right now, and me have this pumpkin plant, and me just plant out a square of cucumber yesterday. Me have a next acre up there so weh me leave say me go put watermelon,” he said.

He however noted that most of the preparation work falls on him because of a shortage of labourers.

“Most of the work them me a have to do it myself, because even as you see this here ground, a me alone drop it and plant it. Because even sometimes you can’t get labourer. You can’t get nobody to really work,” Smith said.

Sheldon Dockery, owner of Destiny Goat and Duck Farm (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

At Destiny Goat and Duck Farm, Sheldon Dockery said his corn, peppers, and pumpkins were destroyed by the hurricane. Additionally, he lost more than 200 ducks and about 10 goats.

However, Dockery wasted no time restarting his farming.

“Immediately after Melissa I just start plant again. I always have seeds stored, so mi start back to plant again, you can’t sit down and wait on the government as people are doing. I don’t have that mentality,” he said. “We just have to regroup and plant again. We can’t stop plant, farming is the way. So we just have to continue.”

Shantol Brooks, a mother of two whose partner farms and works in construction, shared that they too suffered significant damage to their cabbage, sweet pepper and cauliflower crops.

“The whole a here so did plant with cabbage, this piece and that piece. As you see, we trying to do some transplanting in the small lot. Out there so weh bush up we have cauliflower and sweet pepper,” she said.

Brooks said the crops were almost ready for harvest and would have provided crucial Christmas income.

Shantol Brooks show a damaged cabbage crop as a result of the heavy flooding associated with Hurricane Melissa (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

“I feel very sad, I put a lot of effort in there. It’s Christmas, we normally plant to get the little Christmas money,” she added.

For Dale Williams, a farmer in Burnt Savanna, his half-acre farm was completely destroyed, wiping out crops such as corn and cassava.

“Everything was blown down. Nothing no leave. Everything mashed up. Me feel sad. I lost a whole lot of money. Chicken coop got damaged as well. 100 chicken. Me have 12 goats, four gone. It’s a whole lot of damage,” he said.

Although he plans to restart by planting corn on another plot, he is struggling because fertiliser, grains, and other supplies are hard to afford.

“Money that we a depend on gone. The crops we a depend on to carry in some money, everything damage, so it kind of make it worse,” Williams lamented.