When Hurricane Maria hit Dominica in September 2017, Antonia, a 52-year-old Dominican, and a mother of two, awoke to find that her house had been ravaged beyond repair: windows and doors torn away, walls left in ruins. As she walked further, she discovered that the bee farm – her only income source, was also reduced to rubble.
Antonia was one of many Dominicans whose life was severely affected by Hurricane Maria. The category 5 Hurricane Maria caused $ 931 million in damage and Dominica lost 226% of its GDP overnight. The agricultural and fisheries industries - primarily dominated by small-scale farmers like Antonia – were hit the hardest. Together with damage to farm buildings and equipment, the crop and livestock sectors suffered a total loss of $179.6 million.
For Antonia, the loss was even more crushing, as it was a business she had recently embarked on, one that held her dreams and aspirations for the future.
In 2007, Antonia was made redundant from Dominica Coconut Products, a local soap manufacturing company where she worked as a machine operator. With the support of the government, she was offered training in non-traditional areas of work. Antonia chose beekeeping: honey was a product that had a long shelf life and was also less labor intensive than the other areas within the agricultural sector. In addition, it was a venture she could take on independently and not run the risk of being laid off ever again.
She invested a small amount that she had into a few breeder hives, a space where bees build their combs and store honey, and an extractor, equipment used to extract honey from honeycomb frames.
Just when her venture into commercial honey-making was about to begin, Hurricane Maria struck and destroyed the bee farm that she had worked to establish.
“When you pour your time, energy, and whatever little money you have into something, hoping to watch it thrive, and then a hurricane comes and takes it all away, it's absolutely heartbreaking," shares Antonia.
In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, initiatives like the Dominica Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience project have been vital for supporting farmers across Dominica in rebuilding their livelihoods.
The project, a partnership between the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the World Bank, focused on providing assets to farmers and fisherfolk, rehabilitating croplands, and improving agricultural technologies. Additionally, farmers have been introduced to climate resilience technologies, enhancing their capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
For Antonia, the project has become a lifeline. She received new equipment for her bee farm: 30 complete boxes with 300 frames. Frames are used by bees to construct their honeycomb and store honey, pollen, and brood. The new boxes are expected to yield a harvest of 300 gallons during the first season. Antonia has already begun distributing her honey to local supermarkets, while demand for her wax and honeycomb is high among local pharmacies, soap producers, and shoemakers. With expanded capacity, she can significantly boost her earnings. “It’s a sense of independence, it’s where I find my happy place. No one can tell me that the business is closed, and I am sure what I will do tomorrow. I know that I have something I can fall back on to pay my bills and to ensure that my children are fed!” says Antonia.
Going forward, Antonia plans to expand her bee farm production, add value to her products and effectively market them to a wider audience.
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Dominica Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience project works to help Dominica restore agricultural livelihoods and enhance the climate resilience of farmers and fisher folk affected by Hurricane Maria in Dominica.
With the project’s support over 3,700 farmers, 20 percent of whom are women, were provided various assets, such as farming equipment, tractors, plows, irrigation systems, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and other inputs necessary for crop cultivation. Over 150 beneficiaries received materials for livestock activities, and almost 30 structures such as barns, shelters, and feeding stations were constructed, with an additional 71 structures currently in progress. The project also was instrumental in revitalizing agricultural capacity on the island by restoring over 4,500 hectares of cropland, representing nearly 6 percent of Dominica's total land area.
Recognizing that the challenges posed by climate change will persist, the project introduced climate-resilient agricultural technologies to assist farmers in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on crop production. These techniques included soil conservation practices, crop diversification, water management strategies, and agroforestry, among others.
In 2022, amid an escalating food security crisis, the project assisted the government in tackling the issue. It has provided grants to more than 3200 farmers to boost local agricultural production. These efforts contributed to improved food security across Dominica.
