Flooding Hits Cabbage Producers!
The Valley of Peace Farmers Association has been hard hit by flooding and this time, they say they don’t know how they will bounce back from the losses. They are the country’s largest cabbage producers and you’ll recall that back in June the flood waters decimated their crops. As a result, Belize had to import cabbage to supply the local market. So, this time around, the chairman of the association describes the losses as catastrophic. Ever Blandon tells News Five that they have not yet concluded with assessing the losses because their fields are covered in water, but just about all the farmers are affected and they anticipate massive losses.
On the Phone: Ever Blandon, Chairman, Valley of Peace Farmers Association
“Right now we are experiencing a lot of floods. We have some farmers at the riverside and today they have more than eight feet of water. The flood when we reach there is like two or three feet of water. So, right now the loss would be catastrophic to the farmers because all the vegetables would be destroyed by this flooding.”
Andrea Polanco
“What kind of crops are we talking about, Ever? What do the farmers have in the ground right now?”
Ever Blandon
On the Phone: Ever Blandon
“We are talking about cabbage, tomatoes and sweet pepper. Those are the crops that have been damaged. Although, we have some acres of Papaya but that one right now we don’t know if those are damaged. But when the flood pass and the rain come, then we are going to see all the damage that the rain have on the farmers. This will be a difficult one for the farmers because we were restarting again and now we have this flooding again. So, for the farmers to start over, they will need a big hand from some organizations of the government to assist them in some way that they can start over to plant.”
Andrea Polanco
“Ever, have you received some information maybe how many farmers got affected?”
On the Phone: Ever Blandon
“Right now we are doing the survey. I don’t have a set number but I believe there are a lot. This time it’s all the community – all of it that will be affected.”
