Farmers say Maria wrecked bright spot of Puerto Rico economy

For 21 years Hector Alejandro Santiago spread joy throughout Puerto Rico with the poinsettias, orchids and other ornamental plants he raised and sold to major retailers including Costco, Walmart and Home Depot. In a matter of hours Hurricane Maria wiped it away.

The greenhouses and other buildings on the 40 acres where he grew the plants and prepared them for customers lie in tatters, ripped to shreds by 155 mph (244 kph) winds and driving rain. Trees are flattened.

“I will need to begin from zero,” said Santiago, 43, whose Cali Nurseries is located in Barranquitas, a small mountain city 34 miles (55 kilometers) southwest of San Juan. He’s determined to rebuild and get back into business despite the losses he estimates at $1.5 million.

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a Category 4 storm, the strongest to hit the island in a century. At least 16 people died and nearly all 3.4 million people on the island were left without power and most without water.

The hurricane devastated agriculture, a small bright spot of economic growth in a U.S. territory mired in a decade-long recession and crushing debt.

While most of the island’s food is imported, statistics from the governor as of late 2016 show about 7,000 people working in agriculture, farm income growing and acres under cultivation up 50 percent over the past four years.

Agricultural income is divided nearly equally between crop and livestock production, according to the most recent Census of Agriculture compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Puerto Rico in 2012.

Crop sales generate about $271 million a year led by production of plantains, vegetables and melons, nursery and greenhouse crops, fruits and coffee. Livestock sales are about $276 million led by milk production, poultry and cattle, the report said.