Minister Promises Help After Beryl Devastates Banana Farms

Banana farmers have appealed for government support after severe winds associated with the passage of Category Four Hurricane Beryl blasted through their farms, snapping and uprooting banana trees. And Agriculture Minister Alfred Prospere has promised to provide the affected farmers with as much support as possible. Although one farmer in the Mabouya Valley estimated storm damage to banana and plantain crops to be at least two million dollars, Prospere told reporters it was too early to make an assessment. Prospere, who has been visiting affected regions, explained that bananas and plantains are more susceptible to the impact of strong winds than other crops like vegetables which sustained minimal storm damage. He said the damage to banana and plantain crops, especially in the valley, appeared much worse than he had witnessed in the South of Saint Lucia. Nevertheless, the Minister declared that the damage was nowhere near what farmers experienced  when Tropical Storm Bret decimated over seventy-five percent of Saint Lucia’s banana and plantain crops on June 22 last year. To make the situation worse, Bret struck as farmers struggled to grow enough bananas to meet international demand. According to the Agriculture Minister, farmers get demotivated when weather systems impact their...