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Home | 200 Farmers and Fisherfolk in Treasure Beach Receive $7m in Hurricane Recovery Supplies
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (right), interacts with Chief Executive Officer of NCB Foundation Jamaica Limited, Bruce Bowen (centre), and fisherman, Gervon Parchment, as they inspect fishing wires during the distribution of agricultural and fishing supplies at the Breds Foundation Complex in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, on Tuesday (December 23), as part of post-Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts.
Approximately 200 farmers and fisherfolk in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, received over $7 million in supplies and equipment on Tuesday (December 23) at the Breds Foundation Complex, as part of Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts.
The National Commercial Bank Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, distributed critical resources to help restore livelihoods in one of the parishes hardest hit by the Category Five system.
The initiative provided about 100 farmers with vouchers valued $50,000 each for fertiliser, string trimmers (weed wackers), sprays, and other tools, while 100 fishermen received fish pots, wires, ropes, and floats.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, who also serves as Member of Parliament for St. Elizabeth South Western, told JIS News that the initiative formed part of a coordinated national recovery effort to accelerate rebuilding in affected communities.
“All of this is coordinated through Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force. It is one sustained effort… some being done by the private sector and some being done by the Ministry but, ultimately, serving as many farmers and fishers as possible,” he outlined.
Mr. Green added that, “the Ministry of Agriculture had made the call to our private sector to support the farmers and fishers and to join us on the path to recovery. The NCB Foundation has answered a call in a big way.”
In the meantime, the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has been active islandwide, distributing about 2,000 rolls of fishing wire in parishes such as Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, St. James, Clarendon, and Manchester, according to the Minister.
He further noted that the recovery programme will soon expand beyond fishing wire to include assistance with boats and engines, as more than 3,000 fishing vessels were damaged by the hurricane.
“So we’re going to be doing some fishing grants so that people can get help to repair their boats and can buy back their engines, so that they can get back out as quickly as possible,” Mr. Green explained.
He also reminds fishers that a six‑month moratorium on fishing licence renewal fees is in place for the hardest‑hit parishes, and that replacements for lost licences or identification can be obtained free of cost through the NFA.
For her part, Group Head of Marketing and Communications at NCB, Kaysia Johnson Vaughan, noted that the Treasure Beach initiative forms part of the NCB Foundation’s wider ‘Building a Better Jamaica’ Fund, which has invested more than $500 million in Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts since the disaster.
She pointed out that the Foundation chose to focus on agriculture, a key national sector, noting that without support for farmers and fishers, food security and other essentials would be significantly impacted.
Ms. Vaughan further noted that the assistance provided on location on Tuesday was designed to be flexible, with three farm stores on site enabling farmers to select items suited to their specific needs up to the value of their vouchers.
She added that fishermen were likewise able to select combinations of the available equipment according to their individual requirements.
“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen so many lives significantly impacted. In fact, two weeks ago, we were in Trelawny, and we helped over 150 farmers, both female and male, receive fertilisers, chicks and feed. We also went to Kilmarnoch, which is in St. Elizabeth, and… every single home in that community was destroyed. So there is a need,” Ms. Vaughan stated.
Beneficiary, Cinderella McCarthy, who has been farming for about 50 years, stated that she was impacted by the hurricane, which led her to seek assistance from NCB and other groups.
She expressed gratitude for the support in rebuilding her farm, where she cultivates scallion, melon, beetroot, onion, among other crops.
Ms. McCarthy indicated that she plans to fertilise her crops with the resources provided and is thankful for the ongoing assistance.
