Waterlogged fields could mean huge losses

Farmers across the island are counting thousands of dollars in losses after their crops were flooded by heavy rains that drenched the island over the past week.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul, told Barbados TODAY that while unable to give numbers at this time, he has been receiving reports that farmers, particularly in Christ Church, St Philip, and St Lucy, where the land is flat and the water has nowhere to run, are now facing the reality that they have lost crops and along with them, significant investments.

Paul pointed out that one farmer’s entire watermelon crop is under water, while others are scrambling to see what they can save from their tomato and other crops.

“There has been some impact on the crops as a result of the heavy rains. Added to that, the farmers will have difficulty getting into the fields because there are wet. It means then that the cost of actually harvesting crops from the ground will increase because you will have to do more washing. Right now it might be difficult harvesting sweet potatoes because you just cannot get into the grounds and you have to wait until they are dried out. So yes, some farmers are experiencing losses at this time,” he said.

The CEO indicated that all the farmers can do at this time to help themselves is to wait for dry weather conditions to set in, before they can begin making up for the losses by replanting crops.

Paul said that while farmers have been negatively affected by the rainfall, there are those in the sector who welcomed the showers, particularly those engaging in water harvesting projects.

“It all depends on where you are located and how the land is situated. There are a number of farmers who collected water because they do water harvesting,” Paul said.
(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)