On May 20, 2026, key stakeholders from Jamaica’s agricultural, government, financial, and private sectors met to assess hurricane preparedness and agree on measures to strengthen disaster readiness across the sector, as the country prepares for the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season running from June 1 to November 30.

The engagement formed part of a two-part stakeholder forum spearheaded by the Private Sector Task Force comprising the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association under the theme “Strengthening Jamaica’s Agricultural Commodity Producer Organisations for Hurricane Disaster Preparedness and Recovery.”

The discussions identified critical gaps in Jamaica’s agricultural disaster readiness and recovery systems, particularly in governance, stakeholder coordination, sustainable financing, and public-private collaboration. The taskforce, led by Ret’d Col Jaimie Ogilvie, vice president of Hi-Pro, a division of the Jamaica Broilers Group, emphasised the need to transition from a reactive emergency response approach to a structured, long-term resilience and recovery framework, while also strengthening internal systems for future hurricane events.

Participating entities included the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hi-Pro, a division of the Jamaica Broilers Group, Hardware & Lumber, STRATPOL Group, Jamaica Pig Farmers Association, Jamaica Egg Farmers Association, Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, Caribbean Broilers Group, Development Bank of Jamaica, First Global Bank and the International Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), among others.

The forum provided stakeholders with an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to collaboration across the agricultural sector and to strengthen their shared resolve to build a more resilient sector that supports national development and food security, with discussions set to continue in the next phase of engagement.