Trelawny yam farmers hope for bright Christmas

Four weeks after Hurricane Melissa bruised Jamaica's yam belt, the people who grow and sell the island's prized staple insist that Christmas can still "bring back a smile".

Trelawny, which supplies markets from Montego Bay to Kingston and anchors much of Jamaica's yam trade, is staring down a delayed harvest and a likely national shortage. Yet instead of despair, there is a stubborn, almost defiant optimism rising from the soil. That spirit was clear in the community of Allsides, where yam farmer Randal Powell stood with dirt on his shoes and buyers waiting nearby. He had counted roughly 3,000 yams lost across his plots, a third of what his family normally expects. Still, he refused to let the losses swallow his confidence, insisting that the season ahead could still offer a lifeline.

"Yam ago short, yes, but Christmas can save we," he told THE STAR. "Christmas a Christmas. People always a buy."

Even as he pointed out that prices have dipped to about $35,000 per 100 yams, down from $40,000 before the storm, Powell explained that recovery costs were rising sharply, with fertiliser now between $6,500 and $10,000 per bag - one section of land takes up to eight bags. But he said that any small December sales would help him push through the season.

"We can fnd yam even if a nuh nuff, we find it. Mi plan fi rebuild back the section a mi roof weh gone," he said. "If we get back even likkle crop, dat would a help save Christmas."

Just a few steps from the farm, the news team spotted higglers Aron and Anthony Ferguson loading bags destined for Montego Bay vendors. They noted that Trelawny is usually Jamaica's backbone.

"Right round the clock [in] Trelawny yuh have yam," Aron said. "So, if yuh can't get yam a town, come a Trelawny." But this year? "Yam ago short one and few smady can find yam."

Anthony admitted that the slowdown was affecting their livelihood as well, sometimes leaving them sitting idle with little to move. Between rising fertiliser costs and shrinking supply, the brothers expect fewer loads heading into Montego Bay and Kingston as the season unfolds.

While those on the ground are holding onto Christmas hope, environmental advocate Hugh Dixon, who is executive director of the South Trelawny Environmental Agency, had a sober view. He explained that roughly one-third of the crop has been lost, especially in cases where vines were close to maturity.

"If there were two, three months left to harvest and they were severed, then that's it," he said, adding that the shortage has effectively already begun.

Dixon also warned that Melissa may not be an isolated event. "There was a storm last year, and now one again," he said. "If this becomes a yearly pattern, yam farming in Trelawny gets more vulnerable. If every year yam mash up, how farmers recover?"

Beyond the crop damage itself, Dixon expressed concern about the lack of coordinated government response, saying farmers have yet to receive meaningful assessments or scientific guidance on recovery.

"Just to send a couple fertiliser is really an insult," he said, arguing that agencies such as the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) should have been on the ground weeks ago. Up to press time, RADA had not responded to requests for comment.

But even with the science pointing to a long road back, many in the parish believe that morale matters just as much as yield. For Powell, the hope isn't only about sales, it's about spirit. Looking across the damaged fields, he said the community needs something to lift them emotionally, not just financially.

"A yam festival woulda lift we up," he said. "Even if yam short, people need something fi smile again." Dixon confirmed that the last official Trelawny Yam Festival was held in 2011, which Powell believes makes the call for celebration even more urgent. For some, the festival wouldn't be about abundance, but resilience, a chance for the parish to feel proud again, even in a lean year.