KINGSTON, Jamaica—Fifty rural women farmers are set to receive emergency cash support on Tuesday, December 16, as part of an intervention by the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP), aimed at supporting the recovery of those affected by the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

The cash grants are intended to help beneficiaries meet urgent needs including food, essential household items and basic medical care, as well as to support the replacement of critical assets lost during the category five hurricane.

Beneficiaries of the initiative have been identified across Westmoreland, St Elizabeth and Hanover, the parishes that sustained significant agricultural losses during Hurricane Melissa.

Majority of the selected women are heads of agricultural households who were prioritised following post-disaster assessments conducted by the organisation.

President of the JNRWP, Tamisha Lee, said the intervention is designed to restore dignity and choice among women farmers, allowing them to drive their own recovery.

“Hurricane Melissa sought to flatten our homes, but it will never break the spirit of our rural women. This cash transfer puts power back into the hands of women farmers, allowing them to decide what their families need to survive and rebuild,” Lee said.

She added that rural women must be seen as drivers of recovery, not passive recipients of aid.

“The women of rural Jamaica are not victims; they are resilient architects of our national recovery, and with this support, we are equipping them to move forward,” she added.

CARE International’s Caribbean Humanitarian Response Lead, Jonathan Arogeti, underscored the importance of people-centered disaster response.

“Following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, this partnership is providing rural women farmers and their families, not just with cash but with choice and dignity. We are happy to partner with the JNRWP and the Clara Lionel Foundation to help these families respond to this emergency and to become a part of Jamaica’s national recovery,” Arogeti noted.

The cash assistance forms part of the JNRWP’s Targeted Resilience: Emergency Cash Support of the Most Vulnerable Female-Headed Agricultural Households Post Hurricane Melissa Project, and aims to support longer-term resilience among rural women farmers.