Farm flood bill tops $76 million

Christopher Serju, Senior Gleaner Writer

Preliminary estimates of the losses suffered by livestock and crop farmers in St Ann, St Mary and Portland from the recent torrential rains have been put at $76,815,000, according to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

Over the period January 31 to February 1, the agricultural sector was negatively impacted by flooding resulting in crop and livestock losses, damage to road infrastructure and loss of farm lands due to erosion and landslides.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr, told a virtual press conference today that 551 farmers lost an estimated $76,815,000, with the damage to crops accounting for $74,884,600.

The main crops affected were banana, plantain, vegetables, and tubers including cassava, Irish potato, dasheen and yam, as well as condiments and fruits.

The damage was spread over 89 hectares of land occupied by 496 farmers.

For the livestock subsector, the estimate has been put at $1,931,000 with 55 farmers affected.

Charles Jr. disclosed that based on the reports received to date, St Mary was the worst affected parish, with 17 communities being impacted.

Among the areas which suffered extreme damage are Mason Hall, Pagee, Sandside, Cox Street, Trinity, Bailey's Vale, Fontabelle, Jacks River and Spring Head.

Charles Jr. announced that a top-level government team, which will comprise ministers Everald Warmington and Matthew Samuda from the Office of the Prime Minister, will tour sections of the affected parishes on Wednesday to get a first-hand view of the damage, which will inform strategies for helping farmers.

This major setback to the sector comes on the heels of what Charles Jr. said was a milestone in domestic crop production which moved from 697,678.8 tonnes in 2020 to 770,456.2 tonnes in 2021, representing a 10.4 per cent increase.

“This increase is a continuation of the growth trend over the past four years and represents the highest ever production for the subsector, as for the first time production has exceeded more than 700,000 tonnes. This is a milestone that reflects the determination of our farmers towards building our nation,” he told the press conference.

In fact, the estimates from the last quarter of 2021 show an increase of 18.2 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2020, moving from 161,639.6 tonnes to 190,990 tonnes.

Significant contributors were condiments, 12,755.7 tonnes or a 50 per cent increase; fruits 16,123 tonnes or a 36.5 per cent; and vegetables 67,498.5 tonnes or 24.1 per cent increase.

“With indications from the field that production remains vibrant, we can expect that barring any unforeseen extreme weather conditions, the strong growth experienced in the last quarter will continue into the first quarter of 2022,” the minister added.

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