Poultry farmer to miss out on holiday sales

After losing more than 500 of her broiler chickens during the passage of Hurricane Melissa, St Catherine poultry farmer Nadisha Simmonds-Small is hoping for a rebound.

She estimated the loss from the Category 5 storm, to be approximately $750,000. She said that when the storm came, a tree fell on top of the coop, and the water that rushed in drowned some of them. She added that the remainder of the flock was trampled and suffocated when the birds tried to escape the water that was running inside the damaged coop.

The poultry farmer noted that while a few survived the initial weather onslaught, they ultimately died.

"The few that survived, we brought them to another coop, but after - because they already get wet and cold, and let me say, muddy - so they died after a while," she said.

Simmonds-Small noted that she also lost some 100 chickens from her second coop, which held younger birds. To compound her loss, the impact of the power outage in Bonnet district, Guys Hill in the parish, has exacerbated Simmonds-Small's financial distress. She is unable to cull and sell her remaining chickens because, without electricity, she has no refrigeration for storage. Consequently, she must bear the added cost of feeding the flock past the standard six-week timeline.

"It's very hard, honestly. Sometimes we don't feed them according to the usual amount. If we used to feed them five bags in the morning and five in the evening, maybe we can just feed them five for the day alone instead of 10. Because you still can't spend a lot of money, and then you don't want them to get too big, because maybe the person still don't want to buy them," Simmonds-Small explained.

She noted that she will also miss out on holiday sales, as she would usually put in young chickens already, which would be ready around the Christmas period or in January to supply schools in the area. Consequently, Simmonds-Small is looking forward to the assistance that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining plans to provide.

Portfolio Minister Floyd Green toured several farms in Bonnet district last week, where he saw the extent of the damage from the hurricane, and how farmers have begun to replant and rebuild their livelihoods. He stated that more than 1.1 million birds were lost during the major storm that battered sections of Jamaica on October 28. Green noted that approximately $40 million has been allocated to purchase broiler chickens and feed as well as assist with rebuilding chicken houses that were destroyed in the hurricane.

"It would be very, very great. It would be a great help if I get the help from the minister," Simmonds-Small said, adding that the ministry's help is crucial for covering the costs of educating her three school-aged children - two at university and one in high school.

Damage to Jamaica's agriculture and fisheries sector from Hurricane Melissa is estimated at nearly $30 billion. Approximately 41,390 hectares of farmland were affected, leaving at least 70,000 farmers counting their losses. More than 1.25 million animals, including cattle, poultry, and small ruminants, were also lost.