Farmers Urged to Be Careful During Recovery Work in Their Fields

Farmers should exercise great caution and protect themselves during recovery efforts while in the field, says Senior Plant Health and Food Safety Officer with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Francine Webb.

In a recent interview with JIS News, Ms. Webb said with the type of damage resulting from Hurricane Melissa, numerous hazards exist for farmers to navigate.

“Start off with safety. We’re talking about people being mindful because we still have areas – depending on where you are – which may still be flooded, have unstable slopes or still have fallen power lines, so you want to be very careful about how you are going about your farm recovery,” she said.

Ms. Webb said farmers, where possible, should use gear or some protective material to aid in their operations at this time.

“Wear your protective gear, use your water boots, use your gloves, protect yourself with your long sleeves, especially when you’re talking about clearing and cleaning up debris and removing dead animals and so forth from your fields and your property. So, that’s going to be an important thing going forward,” she emphasised.

To assist with land preparation, the Government recently announced that RADA Tractor Service will provide free land preparation for the next six months to rapidly expand acres under production.

For support, farmers can contact the Authority at 876-977-1158 or visit their nearest RADA Parish Office.