Rural St Andrew farmers counting losses after Beryl

It could take years for some farmers in east rural St Andrew to recover the loss of crops damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

Pausing from repairing a fence in his yard in Craig Hill, Ronald Grant showed the news team a valley of fallen trees which he said were weeks away from reaping.

"It's a big setback because when mi think about the pear trees, it is going to take me up to five years before mi can reap again. Mi have to go wait until the suckers dem spring up and give it time to grow before it can bear and mi make back a money. Nuff a the things dem did almost ready and if the hurricane never come, mi would be reaping now," he said.

Despite the massive loss, Grant said he is still grateful as his coffee trees were not affected. He, however, stated that his estimated loss easily surpassed $500,000.

"I had a whole lot of pear, mangoes, coconut, guava, banana and plantain and mi lose dem all. It cost a lot because I select the best set of suckers when I am planting. Even the pear dem was some nice bottle neck and butter type pears," he said.

"Beryl teach mi a lesson though, and that is to not make the trees dem get so tall. I am going to trim dem a lot. When you farm in the valley like I do, the trees tend to grow very tall and that is why the wind do it suh. So next time dis nah go reach mi," Grant added.

As THE STAR team travelled through Dublin Castle, the damaging effects of Beryl were evident. In addition to the uprooted trees, several landsides were noticeable. Sitting on his verandah in George River, Rastafarian farmer Milton said he too is counting his blessings although his crop has been impacted by the hurricane.

"Mi pear tree dem gone too and other things but mi a give thanks same way. One ackee tree drop on top of the goat pen but none of the goats were injured or [killed]. Every farmer feel it in this hurricane, but the way mi see the things dem expensive a market, it don't have to be like that. Imagine one pear a sell fi $400. All of that nuh necessary man, it nuh so bad," he said.