Jamaican Farmers Prepare for Devastating Hurricane Melissa

As of October 28th, 2025, Jamaican farmers on the southern coast are preparing for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Melissa, a potentially devastating storm that threatens to cripple the island's agriculture sector. The storm is expected to make landfall on the same day, bringing catastrophic winds, heavy rainfall, and life-threatening flooding.

For Junior Ebanks, a farmer in the Treasure Beach area, the timing of Melissa's arrival could not be worse. Ebanks was just getting ready to start planting for the lucrative winter tourism season, a time when his greenhouses would typically produce 6,000 pounds of Scotch bonnet peppers, along with other high-value crops. Now, he is bracing for the possibility of losing everything again, just as he did last year when Hurricane Beryl devastated his farm.

The agricultural sector in Jamaica has been making a gradual comeback since Beryl, with the government investing in initiatives like greenhouses and strengthening the links between farmers and the tourism industry. However, the country's Minister of Agriculture, Floyd Green, acknowledges that these weather events remain the greatest threat to the country's hard-won self-sufficiency in key crops.

As Melissa approaches, the Jamaican government has been working to prepare the country, with public hospitals entering emergency mode and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency deploying resources to support the response. Farmers and fishermen have been urged to secure their investments and take shelter, but the sense of dread and uncertainty looms large over the southern coast.