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Home | Together We Rebuild: Resilience in the Wake of Hurricane Melissa – Hon. Floyd Green
Hon. Floyd Green
October 28, 2025, was a life-altering day that will go down in our history books as one of the greatest catastrophes our country has ever seen. This hurricane came at a time when Jamaica was in the process of recovering from the passage of Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Raphael in 2024, which had already significantly disrupted livelihoods and caused substantial damage to the country's agriculture, fisheries, and mining sectors. The Ministry’s prompt response and recovery interventions had enabled us to achieve not only recovery but also growth.
We made significant strides, evidenced by our domestic crop sector growing by 30.5% between the period of July and September of this year. The Fisheries sector contributed J$32.6 billion to GDP last year. For the previous quarter, from April to June of this year, marine production totalled 2,511.43 MT, valued at JM$5.7 billion, while aquaculture production was 110.98 MT, valued at JM$135.5 million. Similarly, our mining sector recovered swiftly and firmly, with bauxite exports from January to September 2025 growing by 14.8% and alumina exports by 1.6% compared to the same period in 2024.
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has devastated homes, businesses, and livelihoods, leaving behind bitter memories and scars of terror. Words alone cannot provide sufficient comfort to all those individuals who have suffered great loss during this time, whether it be property or loved ones. My heart, condolences, and support go out to all my fellow Jamaicans affected by this catastrophic event.
As Minister, my heart aches to see our agriculture and fisheries sectors brought to their knees. Our mining sector was also impacted by the hurricane, which will affect our productivity. We may be bent, but we are most certainly not broken. I have said it time and time again: Jamaica is a place blessed beyond imagination because we have the most resilient people on this planet. And there is no group more resilient than our farmers, fishers and miners.
Therefore, I want to reassure you that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining stands in solidarity with our farmers, fishers, and mining stakeholders, and we will be doing all that is within our power to support our stakeholders as we chart this road to recovery. As it stands, we are already on the ground, working through our various agencies to assist our sectors during this difficult time, and are conducting detailed assessments to determine the extent of the damage.
Though the road ahead looks uncertain, food security remains of paramount importance to Jamaica, and we are mobilising all efforts to restore livelihoods, production, and national food security as quickly and safely as possible. I strongly believe that with all hands on deck, we can rebuild, recover, and emerge stronger. God bless you all, and God bless Jamaica.
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