Puerto Rico struggles to recover after hurricane razed crops

YABUCOA, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona destroyed $159 million worth of crops in Puerto Rico when it hit a month ago, decimating fields of plantains, bananas and other crops, the island's agriculture minister said Tuesday.

The US territory's fragile agricultural sector is barely starting to recover from the Category 1 storm, which hit the island's southwest region on September 18 and unleashed what officials described as “historic” flooding and dozens of landslides. It also destroyed more than 90% of crops across Puerto Rico.

“A lot of us underestimated the phenomenon,” said Manuel Cidre, secretary of Puerto Rico's Department of Economic Development and Commerce. “It was much more damaging to agriculture in the south than many people thought.”

Heavy rains smothered hundreds of acres' worth of crops and fierce winds flattened young banana and plantain trees, which bend easily starting at a constant wind of 20 mph given the heavy bounty they produce, said agronomist Peter Vivoni, president of the Puerto Rican Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Also hard hit were vegetable and coffee plantations, said Agriculture Minister Ramón González.

The storm was the latest challenge to hit Puerto Rico's agriculture sector, which has struggled to find workers to pick crops and prompted government officials in recent years to bring workers from Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Just days after Fiona hit, Puerto Rico's agriculture minister announced a more than $2 million aid package for farmers, with thousands applying for help. Crews also have been inspecting farms in recent weeks, with González announcing Tuesday that banana and plantain policy payments will be issued this week.

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