Typhoon Struck Farmers In Philippines Need Urgent Assistance To Sow New Seeds Hundreds of thousands of farmers in the Philippines whose crops were destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan need urgent assistance to sow new seeds before the end of the current planting season, FAO warned last week. The typhoon caused damage in the central part of the country to the 2013 main season rice crop, harvesting of which was well advanced. It also badly disrupted planting of the current 2013-2014 secondary season, which ends in late December. There is concern that many storage facilities may have been destroyed, along with their contents. Damage to the main season paddy crop both by Typhoon Haiyan and by Typhoon Nari, which hit northern parts of the country in October, as well as disruption to the planting of the second season is expected to result in lower rice production than anticipated for 2013. FAO has downgraded its forecast for the 2013 rice production in the country to 18 million tonnes from the expectation of a bumper crop of 18.9 million tonnes at the beginning of the season. While rice production at the national level is likely to remain close to last years level, the damage at the regional level is more severe. FAO warned that farmers in areas hit by the typhoon could face severe food security and livelihood problems if they do not succeed in planting the next crop in the weeks ahead. Planting of the secondary season, mostly irrigated rice, was well underway and it is expected that crops are severely compromised. If we want to avoid entire regions of the country having to rely on food aid, we need to act now to help vulnerable families to plant or replant by late December,” he said. FAO has called for $ 24 million for immediate interventions in fisheries and agriculture targeting 250 000 households as part of the UN-coordinated humanitarian Flash Appeal launched on 12 November. The Organization plans to provide farmers with rice and maize seeds, tools, fertilizer and small irrigation equipment so that they can plant during the secondary season. Families will also receive vegetable seeds to help bridge the gap before the next harvest. Powered by Commodity Insights
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 10:02:40 +0000
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