$30b bite
Hurricane Melissa inflicts massive wound to agri, fisheries
Published:Wednesday | November 12, 2025 | 12:39 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter
Damage to Jamaica’s agriculture and fisheries sector from Hurricane Melissa is estimated at nearly $30 billion.
The Category Five storm, whose local death toll officials placed at 45 on Tuesday, tore through parishes that produce the island’s largest agricultural output, with St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St James, and Hanover among the hardest hit.
Approximately 41,390 hectares of farmland were affected, leaving at least 70,000 farmers counting their losses. More than 1.25 million animals, including cattle, poultry, and small ruminants, were also lost.
Melissa’s impact will result in a significant reduction in locally produced crops for the Christmas season, with about 32 hectares of vegetable lines destroyed, causing estimated damage of $8.8 billion and affecting 47,500 farmers.
In the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Agriculture and Mining Minister Floyd Green outlined government measures to support recovery. An emergency recovery programme worth $450 million has been allocated to replanting, restocking, and land preparation. This forms part of a broader $3 billion plan to help the agricultural sector rebound, with further details expected in upcoming updates.
Green said distribution of $40 million worth of seeds through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) network across production zones would begin this week. An additional $80 million has been set aside for emergency procurement, including $50 million for seeds and $30 million for agro-chemicals.
“In an attempt to remove the barriers to production and to rapidly expand the acres under production, the RADA tractor service will provide free land preparation for the next six months,” Green announced.
He also said seeds and planting material available through Bodles and RADA nurseries will be free for the next three months.
A separate $40 million has been allocated to assist chicken farmers in purchasing chicks.
Key crops most affected include sweet pepper, tomato, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, and vine crops such as melon and cantaloupe. Banana and plantain crops covering 2,450 hectares have suffered $2.9 billion in losses, affecting 2,760 farmers, while 1,870 hectares of fruit trees incurred $337 million in damage, impacting 4,500 farmers. Tuber crops, including yams and cassava, lost 4,670 hectares, amounting to $4.5 billion and affecting 6,120 farmers.
The coffee sector, Green said, sustained 40 per cent damage to trees and a 40-45 per cent loss of production, valued at $800 million.
Preliminary reports indicate regulatory crops, excluding ginger and turmeric, suffered $833.8 million in damage, while the sugar industry lost $1 billion.
The poultry sector lost 458,000 layers (50 per cent of the laying flock) and 780,000 broilers, amounting to $2 billion in damage. Livestock losses included 3,560 small ruminants, 5,600 pigs, and 2,850 cattle, with a total value of $3.1 billion.
Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture Dr Dayton Campbell suggested that farmers should be the first to benefit from imports to fill gaps in the market during recovery.
“Being practical, we all know that there has to be some level of importation to prevent famine on the land. However, in allowing the importation, the practitioners that are currently in the space should be the beneficiaries of the permits for importation,” he said.
He said the egg farmers should be the ones importing eggs, and the onion farmers should also be given the chance to import onions.
However, Campbell warned that the Government has to put measures in place to protect consumers from price gouging as some importers imposed significant increases on agricultural produce following the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July 2024.