Irrigation Services Restored to 98% of Customers

Irrigation services have been restored to approximately 98 per cent of customers by the National Irrigation Commission (NIC), following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28, 2025.

At a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, Public Relations Specialist at the NIC, Christeen Forbes, said the near-full restoration reflects the agency’s strengthened disaster preparedness and lessons learnt from previous extreme weather events.

“Up to four weeks after Hurricane Melissa, we have at least 98 per cent of our customers restored with irrigation services due to forward planning and strategic thinking that allowed us to bounce back much better than we did in Hurricane Beryl,” she shared.

Ms. Forbes explained that ahead of Hurricane Melissa, the Commission activated its Disaster Risk Management Committee, which made the decision to shut down irrigation systems to protect lives, livelihoods and critical infrastructure in anticipation of the category-five storm.

She added that irrigation remains central to Jamaica’s food security, particularly in the wake of climate change and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns. As such, “we consider water to be the heartbeat of Jamaica’s agricultural sector. We have the land, but without water there is very little that we can do”.

The NIC, which operates across the southern and central agricultural belts, including St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Catherine, Portland, St. Thomas, Trelawny and St. James, provides irrigation through pressurised systems, water-filling stations and trucked water.

In addition to restoring irrigation infrastructure, Ms. Forbes noted that the Commission has been providing free non-potable water to farmers and surrounding communities in western Jamaica since the immediate aftermath of the hurricane.

“From day one, we started trucking water to farmers, schools, police stations and communities. This is part of our corporate responsibility, because we don’t just serve farmers, we support the communities in which we operate,” the Public Relations Specialist said.

She added that field service officers have also been deployed to engage farmers on a one-on-one basis to identify challenges and provide targeted support, as the Commission focuses not only on service delivery but also on eco-social development in rural Jamaica.

Ms. Forbes said recovery is already visible on the ground, with farmers returning to fields shortly after the hurricane and some preparing for harvest later this month.

“We are witnessing the recovery on the ground. Our farmers have shown tremendous resilience, and we commend them for their patience as we worked to restore services,” she informed.

The National Irrigation Commission continues to provide updates on its restoration and relief efforts through its social media platforms and website at www.nicjamaica.com.