With Hurricane Melissa making its way through the Caribbean Sea and threatening to impact countries such as Cuba and Jamaica, preparations are underway for its effect.
On Friday in the Dominican Republic, farmers were diligently implementing possible preventative measures to protect crops. "One of our greatest concerns lies in the risk of flooding and strong winds, which could cause considerable damage to the harvests," says Rosanna Nin Cid of GL.Sila Export SRL. "We are also concerned about the potential impact on agricultural infrastructure, including irrigation systems and greenhouses—key components for sustaining continuous production."
Nin Cid says it's remaining in close communication with the relevant meteorological and agricultural authorities to receive the most up-to-date information and adjust our strategies accordingly. "While we remain hopeful that the storm's effects will not be severe, the uncertainty inherent in these natural events always poses a significant challenge for our sector," says Nin Cid.
© National Hurricane Center
Florida on watch?
Meanwhile, while the storm isn't necessarily destined to reach Florida, growers are watchful of the storm just in case of trajectory changes and more.
"We're keeping a very close eye on it, even though the predicted path keeps it away from Florida," says Steven Callaham of the Dundee Citrus Growers. "There's a pretty strong cold front that's heading south now through the eastern portion of the United States coming down towards Florida and that's going to keep the storm more east and away from Florida so I think we'll most likely be spared from this."
Callaham adds that normally if storms are destined for the state, standard preparations kick in such as filling fuel tanks in case accessing fuel post-storm is difficult or roads are unmanageable. Other preparations include securing loose items or unstacking items.
When it comes to citrus crops, it may also pick ahead. "Typically the crop will be wet for several days and then you just can't harvest during those time periods," he says. "So if we have orders that we need to fulfill we may pick ahead some. Though you run the risk as well of being without power for an extended period of time and may not be able to run your packing lines. We own our own large generator for our cold storage facilities so we would be self-sufficient though."
For more information:
GL.Sila Export CRL
Rosanna Nin Cid
https://www.glsila.com/
Steven Callaham
Dundee Citrus Growers
http://dun-d.com/
