Ninety-eight farmers registered with the Rural Agricultural Growth Authority (RADA) will profit from a $2.88 million insurance coverage payout beneath the GraceKennedy Climate Safety Programme to help their restoration from the influence of Hurricane Melissa.
The parametric insurance coverage product, administered by GraceKennedy (GK) Normal Insurance coverage Firm Restricted, is designed to safeguard the livelihoods of native farmers and fishers towards excessive climate occasions, together with extra rainfall, drought, and hurricane-force winds.
A symbolic cheque representing the full sum was handed over to farmer beneficiaries on Wednesday (November 12), throughout a ceremony on the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining’s Hope Gardens workplace in St. Andrew.
Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Inexperienced, described the handover as a “bittersweet second”, noting that the sector was poised for a record-breaking 12 months in agricultural manufacturing when Hurricane Melissa—a catastrophic Class 5 cyclone—struck Jamaica’s southwestern coast and swept northward throughout the island, leaving widespread destruction in its wake.
He disclosed that, for the primary time in Jamaica’s historical past, the agriculture sector was projected to surpass 900,000 tonnes in home crop manufacturing.
“None of us [wanted] to be right here, as a result of we’d have fairly that we didn’t have a Hurricane Melissa, and that we have been out within the fields doing what we love. However the actuality is that our local weather has modified, and these excessive climate occasions have turn into par for the course in our agricultural area. As such, it’s important that we make preparations for them,” Minister Inexperienced said.
He hailed the timeliness of the insurance coverage scheme, noting that it’ll help farmers—a few of whom have been nonetheless recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Rafael in 2024—to speed up their restoration and resume agricultural manufacturing.
“Ten years in the past… eight years in the past, we wouldn’t be having a ceremony of this nature as a result of, at the moment, there was no facility for farmers to take the mandatory steps to arrange themselves towards these inevitable weather-related occasions. The truth that we now have a facility, provided by GK Insurance coverage Normal Insurance coverage Firm Restricted, is one thing that we should always all applaud,” the Minister said.
Mr. Inexperienced affirmed the Authorities’s dedication to the scheme, noting that $7.5 million was allotted to subsidise base-level protection for every collaborating farmer’s insurance coverage coverage.
GK Normal Insurance coverage Shopper and Associate Providers Supervisor, Orette Duncan, who spoke through the handover ceremony, famous that of the 98 registered RADA farmers, 49 will obtain the utmost payout of $50,000 beneath their protection.
“We aren’t simply handing over the funds. We’re standing in solidarity with all our farmers and, in reality, all our folks. We’re additionally reaffirming our dedication to strengthening Jamaica’s meals safety, defending livelihoods, and fortifying the agricultural sector towards future local weather occasions. To each farmer… proper throughout the island, your resilience evokes us,” Mr. Duncan said.
He additional indicated that GK Normal Insurance coverage has already disbursed over $2.2 million to 30 feminine farmers from the Jamaica Community of Rural Ladies Producers (JNRWP), who have been sponsored by the Cooperative for Help and Aid All over the place (CARE) Worldwide to enroll within the insurance coverage scheme.
