Rayon Dyer, Gleaner Writer
BLACK RIVER, St. Elizabeth:
AS HEAVY rains continue to lash the island, the Ministry of Agriculture
and its agencies are preparing to assess the extent of the damage to agriculture sector, which has taken a severe battering from natural
disasters in the last year.
But already farmers in St. Elizabeth, the "Breadbasket" parish, have begun counting their losses as they report extensive damage to agricultural crops. About 80 acres of farm produce in the southern section of St. Elizabeth was destroyed as a result of showers associated with Hurricane Wilma, they said.
CROPS AFFECTED
Speaking in an interview, Marcel Ebanks, a farmer of Flagaman, said that crops affected include: water melon, carrots, escallion, canteloupe, tomato, and beet root.
"This could be one of the biggest losses to farmers in southern St. Elizabeth. The entire plains had water settled in different parts. The farmers in this area will definately need some help to restart their farms," Mr. Ebanks said. He said farmers in the area will not be able to replant anything until the water is dried from the fields.
"With more than one week of persistent rainfall, there is hardly anything in the field that can be saved. Everything is water soaked, which will eventually be spoiled shortly," complained Ronald Daley, another farmer from the area.
EFFECT ON LOCAL MARKET
He noted that 80 acres of agricultural produce was a lot of produce, which he estimated is valued at about $10 million. Mr. Daley agreed that majority of the farmers in southern St. Elizabeth will be severely affected in their ability to produce vegetables for the local market over the next couple of weeks.
When contacted deputy parish manager of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Neville Morgan, said the agency will shortly commence a parish-wide assessment to note the extent of the damage that was done to agricultural crops in St. Elizabeth. "If the weather permits our officers will be going out into the fields to conduct the assessment before Friday of this week," Mr. Morgan said.
