HURRICANE IVAN, which ripped through the island September 10-11, has left behind in its wake, damage to commercial property and agricultural produce of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs valued at approximately J$16 million.
Following preliminary assessments conducted by 4-H clubs field officers, it was revealed that production and training centres such as Bog in Westmoreland, Denbigh in Clarendon and Rose Hall in St. Catherine were some of the centres hardest-hit.
DAMAGE
"4-H was hard-hit by Hurricane Ivan leaving damage estimated at $16 million, of which agricultural damage is $4 million and infrastructure is at $12 million," said 4-H Executive Director Lenworth Fulton. Some of the damage sustained included that of roofs to centre managers' and caretakers' cottages at the centres, as well as the roofs of the centres. The poultry house at the Rose Hall centre was also severely damaged and some 947 birds lost.
Fulton noted that the roof of the centre at Bog in Westmoreland would cost approximately $1,520,000 to replace. A substantial quantity of agricultural produce including citrus, banana, plantain, sugar cane, coffee and vegetables was also lost during Ivan's destructive trek.
At the Vernamfield Centre in Clarendon, one of the worst-hit parishes, approximately $400,000 worth of losses was sustained at the four-acre plot of bananas and plantains.
RECOVERY
But Fulton noted that a plan was already on the books for the rehabilitation process. "The organisation is putting a plan in place to attack the recovery from all possible angles, where the major training centres such as Denbigh and Rose Hall will be prioritised," he said. He added that production of crops and livestock would also be a priority in the recovery process.
At the 4-H national headquarters at Old Hope Road in St. Andrew, substantial damage was also done to the hydroponics project there. This project, which was funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and launched in June last year, was one which made provisions for the growth of plants without soil in a balanced nutrient solution under a greenhouse environment.
This project like the others is expected to be rehabilitated as soon as possible.
