Jamaica's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining is implementing recovery measures for the banana and plantain sector following Hurricane Melissa in October 2025, while regional producers are intensifying efforts to manage the spread of Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4).
Senior Strategist Michael Pryce said the hurricane destroyed around 95 per cent of the country's banana and plantain crop. "We immediately started efforts to resuscitate bananas after the hurricane, and we injected, as a Ministry, $100 million (US$630,000) into special fertilisers for bananas," he said.
The programme, implemented by The Banana Board and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), is expected to support about 5,000 farmers and rehabilitate more than 2,500 hectares of damaged farms.
Recovery is progressing, although production will take time to return. "Bananas are in the ground, bananas are in the recovery process, but they take eight to nine months to come back to production. We went down to five per cent [so] there is no banana now, but within the next two or three months, we should be having full-fledged banana production," Pryce noted.
Despite supply shortages, Jamaica is not considering imports due to phytosanitary risks linked to TR4. "If it enters Jamaica, we're done; say goodbye to bananas forever," he said.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, producers are implementing mitigation measures against TR4, a soil-borne fungus affecting banana and plantain crops. The disease has already been confirmed in Venezuela, where authorities have introduced containment and recovery strategies.
In affected areas, crop diversification is being adopted following the removal of infected fields. "Crop diversification has emerged as a central pillar of the response, with producers shifting into corn, cassava, beans, chilli peppers and pumpkin," Venezuela's National Institute of Integral Agricultural Health (INSAI) said.
Support programmes include the provision of seeds, tools, biosecurity inputs, and technical training. "Planting corn gave us a harvest that benefited everyone. We have been improving the soil," said farmer Lesbia Margarita García.
Containment measures include controlled access to farms, equipment sanitation, and ongoing surveillance. Monitoring systems, awareness campaigns, and training programmes are being expanded, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Technology is also being applied, including multispectral drones and laboratory systems, to support phytosanitary monitoring. "The use of technology will help with enabling faster identification of outbreaks and more targeted responses," the FAO said.
TR4 continues to spread across parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. Regional coordination and biosecurity protocols are being strengthened to limit further spread, with initiatives such as the World Banana Forum supporting knowledge exchange and technical preparedness.
"Bananas and plantains remain critical to both income generation and nutrition across the developing world," the FAO noted.
Sources: JIS, Jamaica Observer
