Copyright jamaica-gleaner
Food security will be a major concern as Jamaica begins to recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa. The issue extends beyond local consumption, as much of the country’s agricultural output is destined for international markets. Parishes like St Elizabeth, known as the ‘Breadbasket of Jamaica’, bore the brunt of the Category 5 storm, and other farming communities are now counting the cost of destroyed crops and livestock. One such area is Baileston in Clarendon, a community renowned for its agricultural activities, particularly sugar cane and bananas. Edward David Marston, a local farmer, spoke with The Gleaner on Wednesday, standing amid the wreckage of his over 20-acre farm. His crops – yams, sugar cane, bananas, and plantains – had been devastated by the storm, leaving him with little more than a sense of loss and a glimmer of hope. Much of his produce, aimed primarily at the wholesale export market, had been ruined. And while he was able to rescue some of the bananas hanging limply on felled trees, they were only good enough to gift to his neighbours in the hillside community. “Everything gone. Everything, everything. I go on the farm and I had to turn back. Nothing save, nothing. Weh nuh blow down, landslide and dem gone a gully. Nothing.” Marston said he fell in love with the soil and planting since he started accompanying his grandfather as a 10-year-old. Now 59, he’s seen many storms, but he told The Gleaner that Melissa was the worst he had seen. “I went through Gilbert, Ivan mi neva deh Jamaica, suh mi neva experience it. But I have seen heavy storms and rains and this is the worse, the worse in history I ever see inna mi 59 years you nuh.” One of the bright sparks for the distressed farmer was his resilient pigs. “Only the pigs mi save, even though the top of their pen blow off. Dem alright, dem alright. Dem hide, lay down inna water and sleep. Memba a hog; dat nuh bodda dem.” Fortunately for Marston, his house was spared, and he was only seeing the devastation in the light of day on Wednesday, as with debris flying on Tuesday, he dared not venture out. “Mi did a prip through window and dem sump’n deh and see wah gwan, but mi neva did a come out because zinc a fly, suh mi nuh tek nuh chance,” he said. “But when a man fall, him just haffi get back up, you nuh. Haffi just laugh and say, ‘ah suh di ting set’, you nuh. A nature. Breath still inna di body, and mi family alright.” For now, Marston will have to lean heavily on his other job as a chef in Spaldings until he recovers and replants his farm. karen.madden@gleanerjm.com
