Seprod Foundation, Mercy Corps and Home Depot deliver farm recovery kits to Hurricane Melissa-hit growers

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Forty agricultural recovery kits have been placed in the hands of farmers in Crawford, St Elizabeth and Seaford Town, Westmoreland, in a joint effort led by the Seprod Foundation alongside Mercy Corps and The Home Depot. The handover, carried out on April 15 and 16, 2026, is aimed at helping growers whose livelihoods took a major hit when Hurricane Melissa struck last October.

Each kit was packed with a mix of practical items: equipment for clearing and cutting land, core farming implements, supplies for managing crops, and protective wear. Together, the materials are intended to let farmers clean up storm-damaged plots, get back into the fields, and rebuild the income flows the hurricane disrupted.

Beneficiary farmer Steve Kameka, quoted in a press release issued on Friday, spoke to what the assistance means on the ground. "After the hurricane, a lot of us didn't know how we would get back on our feet. These tools give me a chance to clear out and start planting again. It means I can start providing for my family again," he said.

Executive Director of the Seprod Foundation, Lisa D'Oyen, credited the retail partner for making the early phase of the rebuild possible. "The support from The Home Depot has been instrumental in helping farmers take the first steps toward recovery," she said. "Through our partnership with Mercy Corps, we are able to ensure that these resources reach the communities that need them most, while continuing to build a foundation for long-term resilience."

Mercy Corps, the international arm of the partnership, took the lead on sourcing the kits and coordinating logistics, then worked side by side with the Seprod Foundation to put the supplies into farmers' hands and engage with the affected communities.

"Our partnership with Seprod Foundation has been key to keeping our work across Jamaica grounded and connected to the real needs expressed by hurricane-impacted communities," said Mercy Corps Caribbean Resilience Director Allison Dworschak. "We look forward to continued partnership as we ready ourselves for next season."

The distribution sits within a wider, still-running recovery programme focused on shoring up agricultural resilience and food security in districts battered by Melissa. Crawford and Seaford Town have been flagged as priority zones for ongoing assistance as repair work and replanting carry on.

The Seprod Foundation said the scale of need across affected farming districts is still wide, and stressed that sustained collaboration with partners such as The Home Depot and Mercy Corps will be needed to broaden the reach of the relief effort.