Farmer facing uphill battle after crop loss

Despite doing all she could to protect her farm and animals, nothing could have prepared Claudine Walker for the devastation and ruin that Hurricane Beryl brought when it passed over Jamaica nearly two weeks ago.

Walker told THE STAR that even in the midst of the category 4 hurricane, she and her daughter were actively trying to save the coop that housed her 200 broiler chickens. She expected some damage but on July 4, a day after the hurricane hit, the destruction to her farm was far beyond what the 53-year-old farmer imagined.

"I couldn't even count the trees them, because when I went there and saw the place, it was discouraging; so I couldn't even walk the farm," Walker explained, adding that it wasn't until last Saturday that she found the strength to evaluate the farm. That was when she realised that most of her fruitful banana trees were blown down and 50 per cent of her coffee crop was damaged.

"You have a lot of trees that blow down on the coffee, you have trees that root up on the farm...and a bearing coffee too, enuh. All a mi banana tree dem blow down, all a mi plantain dem blow down, mi pear tree dem down!" Walker said. She lamented that she now has no crops to sell and farming is her only stream of income.

"Every week mi sell at least three hands of ripe banana, also I have a customer who every week that person order three dozen banana. So mi always a try save it fi the person and now I don't have nothing to sell," Walker said.

Agriculture minister Floyd Green said that the island's agricultural sector has suffered approximately $1 billion in damage from the hurricane. An initial evaluation of the effects on the commodities showed that 60 per cent of coffee farmers experienced damage with 11 parishes affected. It noted that the primary damage documented and observed included uprooted shade trees, as well as bending and shaking of the coffee trees. The assessment noted that while the actual berry loss was minimal, secondary short-term effects such as immature ripening and some amount of abortion of fruits may occur. Other crops such as cocoa and pimento saw 40 per cent and 50 per cent damage to farms.

Walker, who has been a farmer for 18 years, told THE STAR that she was overcome with grief, and for a brief moment felt like giving up.

"After mi work so hard and have plans for the farm, when mi guh there and see all a weh mi work suh hard for just damage, I just felt like 'why put myself back in that situation?' But then again, mi have life and suh mi just afi move on, cah mi give up. Suh mi just have to guh start all over back again," Walker said, adding that she is now focused on getting her farm back to what it used to be. However, she needs funds to get the job done.

"Right now I need some help from somebody outside with a power saw and some manpower fi clear the trees and set back the farm because there is still hope. But mi need fi get some cash in a mi hand because nobody nah duh nothing free," Walker said.