The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining will implement a $100 million recovery program for banana and plantain farmers following Hurricane Melissa, which devastated the country's commercial crops on October 28, 2025.  The program, to be carried out by the Banana Board and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), aims to assist approximately 5,000 banana and plantain farmers and rehabilitate more than 2,500 hectares of damaged farmland. 

"We will provide farmers with fertilisers based on verified damage assessments and farm sizes to ensure fairness and effectiveness. We successfully did this after Hurricane Beryl, and we saw good returns on our investment," explained Portfolio Minister Floyd Green during a recent press briefing at the Ministry's headquarters in Hope Gardens, St. Andrew. Minister Green noted that while the banana and plantain crops are expected to take 6 to 8 months to recover, this program aims to expedite the recovery. He also mentioned that several farmers have already started their recovery efforts, supported by a catastrophe fund managed by the Banana Board. 

"Payouts have been issued to support the nutritional programs necessary for rebuilding the farms. Many farmers were out early after Hurricane Melissa, working hard to get back on their feet, cutting back crops to ensure production resumes as quickly as possible," Minister Green said.

The minister added that the importation of bananas and plantains cannot take place during the recovery process due to the high risk of disease contamination. "The Banana Board and its teams have done an excellent job of keeping Jamaica free from many diseases that have affected banana and plantain crops worldwide, and we want to maintain that status," he emphasised.