Proactive Approach to Prepare Agricultural Sector for Hurricane Season

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining says it will be taking a proactive approach to prepare the sector for the upcoming hurricane season, which lasts from June to November.

Senior Strategist, Consultant and Advisor to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Michael Pryce, said the Ministry will be using lessons learnt to bolster its preparedness.

“I think the lesson that is most important is the level of preparedness prior to anything happening. We should not be reactive, we should be proactive, and both Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa saw us starting to put things in place prior to and after both events and we were able to get inputs on the ground within a week and a half to two weeks of the event, which is not coincidental; it is because of planning,” he said.

Mr. Pryce was speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (March 20), at the agency’s Television Department, at South Odeon Avenue in Kingston.

Mr. Pryce, who is also co-chair of the Hurricane Melissa Recovery and Resilience Committee in the Ministry, said the Ministry has a strategic approach to preparedness.

“We have a system that kicks in nearer to the start of the year and we maintain vigilance throughout. As we get our budget in April, we start the procurement process for certain things, so we have our inputs like seeds and fertilisers either in place or lined up that we can access quickly,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry’s commitment to the strategic rebuilding of Jamaica’s agricultural and fisheries sectors has been evidenced by support to the sectors hardest hit, including Fisheries.

Immediate relief took the form of a licence and registration moratorium of six months, effective November 12, 2025 and running until May 11, 2026, allowing Fishers to rebuild their lives and operate until they can regain access to their licences.

Some $100 million was also allocated for fishing beach and access road rehabilitation, with works completed at Black River in St. Elizabeth, Whitehouse in Westmoreland, and other key sites.

Ten water tanks, each with a capacity for 2,500 gallons, were procured for potable water at major fishing beaches, while $80 million was allocated for gear replacement.

Fishers also benefited from the procurement of 2,260 rolls of wire mesh, valued at $35 million dollars, with 1,200 rolls distributed across 33 fishing beaches, so far.