Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, has said that while crop insurance is critical to the agricultural sector, individuals need to play a proactive role in their approach to disasters.

Speaking at a technical workshop on weather risk management strategies for the agricultural sector, at the Hilton hotel, St Andrew, on June 18, Stanberry said even though the Government was playing its part in redirecting and reprioritising its budget whenever a disaster strikes, stakeholders needed to take a concerted approach in its management.

"The reality is I don't know that that approach is sustainable. I think (a) better approach is to be a little proactive. I think we have to re-emphasise and preach and teach, in a sustained way, the necessity of mitigation, of reorientating our cultural practices in agriculture," he said.

Stanberry noted that this was important because of Jamaica's location in a hurricane belt and the sector faces the prospect of having all or much of its gains wiped out.

Clear correlation

"If we look on a graph of production and superimpose on that graph all these weather episodes, there is a clear correlation between production (and disasters) and production tends to be generally down when we have these. It, therefore, tells us that the single greatest threat to agriculture in this country is, perhaps, disasters," he added.

Stanberry suggested that all stakeholders should find creative ways to reduce the damage sustained during and after natural disasters.He recalled that during Hurricane Dean, in 2007, consultations were held with greenhouse farmers on the way they constructed their facilities in an effort to minimise the damage sustained. He said that after those consultations, the greenhouses were designed so the sides could be removed to minimise risk during hurricanes.

The permanent secretary also suggested that vulnerable crops should be planted in areas where, historically, the impact of hurricanes has been less."We have to do those things and, in that context, I think we might come to a stage where we might have to look at crop zoning and create a culture of mitigation," Stanberry said.