Jamaican farms reel from Hurricane Melissa, fuel fears of food shortages

The Star

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has devastated Jamaica’s agricultural heartland, St. Elizabeth, destroying farms, killing thousands of chickens, and leaving at least 28 people dead.   Egg farmer Osbourne Brumley lost his J$540 million (RM14 million) uninsured investment after both his facilities were destroyed, threatening a nationwide egg shortage.   The storm also flattened major crop fields, raising fears of food scarcity.   Read more at https://tinyurl.com/3cwr9e72  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00An egg farm built by Osborne Brumley with his life savings in Jamaica's St. Elizabeth

00:06Parish, designed to withstand 150 mph winds, was destroyed by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa

00:14on Tuesday.

00:15The storm's 300 kmph winds tore through the island's western region, killing thousands

00:21of chickens and flattening fields of yams, pumpkins, potatoes and cassava.

00:26At least 28 people were killed, and fears of food shortages are mounting in the nation

00:31of 2.8 million.

00:33Brumley, 69, said he lost his uninsured 540 million Jamaican dollars, or approximately

00:4014 million ringgit investment, and warned of a massive egg shortage.

00:45There is a food shortage right now, because all the food has, most of it has disappeared

00:49in the wind and gone, and starvation is going to kick in, serious starvation.

00:56The storm ripped roofs off two birdhouses, collapsed a feed silo and cut power, threatening the

01:11remaining birds.

01:12His second facility in Springfield, also destroyed, brought total losses to farms that produced

01:1875,000 eggs daily for 200 supermarkets and 14 hotels.

01:24Other farmers said recovery could take months, with prices likely to double for surviving produce.

01:30Agriculture Minister Floyd Green called the hurricane's impact crippling, saying damage

01:35assessments are underway before launching a recovery task force supported by international

01:40partners and disaster funds.

01:42He said Jamaica will temporarily rely on imports, including liquid eggs, to stabilize food supplies.

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01:54Congress LIVED

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