Puerto Rico struggles to recover after hurricane razed crops

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

YABUCOA, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s agriculture minister says Hurricane Fiona destroyed $159 million worth of crops in Puerto Rico when it hit a month ago, decimating fields of plantains, bananas and other crops. The U.S. territory’s fragile agricultural sector is barely starting to recover from the Category 1 storm, which hit the island’s southwest region on Sept. 18 and unleashed what officials described as “historic” flooding and dozens of landslides. It also destroyed more than 90% of crops across Puerto Rico. Heavy rains smothered hundreds of acres’ worth of crops and fierce winds flattened young banana and plantain trees. Also hard hit were vegetable and coffee plantations.