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5,000 water buffaloes needed in cyclone-hit south, says FAO

A farmer and his son in their ox cart in poverty-stricken Myanmar. Wikimedia Commons

Five thousand water buffaloes are urgently needed to help farmers in the Ayeyarwady Delta prepare for planting after a massive loss of draught animals and other livestock in last month's cyclone, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

More than 120,000 mature draught animals – as well as 66,000 pigs, 498,000 ducks, nearly 7,000 goats and more than a million chickens - perished when the Category 4 storm, and its powerful tidal surge, pummelled the region on 2 and 3 May, an FAO report released on 18 June stated.

The lost draught animals would have been used to plough about 120,000 hectares of paddy-land per season to prepare it for planting, the report stated, and their loss is a major setback for the area's rice-production potential.

Myanmar agricultural authorities and international aid agencies are distributing mechanised power tillers so some farmers who lost their animals can still plough their fields in time for the crucial monsoon planting season, which is supposed to be under way.

But the FAO stated that 15 percent of the cyclone-affected paddy lands – or around 122,782 hectares – are so-called "deep water rice production systems", and cannot be ploughed effectively by mechanised tillers, due to the nature of the soil and its high water content.

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"Because of the high water levels in the paddy fields, even during the normal monsoon period there is little alternative to replacing the draught cattle and buffaloes, as mechanical implements are considered not suitable," the report stated.

Myanmar authorities are trying to bring 6,000 water buffaloes from other parts of the country into the delta.

But the FAO is appealing for international donors to provide an additional 5,000 draught animals, along with a three-month supply of animal feed, to small farmers so they can be in a position to plant at least 10,000 hectares of rice.

The estimated cost of the initiative, plus additional animal feed for those draught animals that survived but are now too weak and hungry to work, would be about US$3.56 million

The FAO is also recommending that the international community spend $1.86 million to supply ducks and chickens to around 15,000 particularly vulnerable, landless households or female-headed families, for which livestock rearing is a major part of their livelihood.

Targeted assistance

The FAO's appeal follows a needs assessment for the farming, livestock, fisheries and forestry sector in the Ayeyarwady delta in the wake of the cyclone.

Over a three-week period, FAO technical experts, accompanied by senior technical specialists from relevant government ministries, travelled extensively in the delta, including very remote areas.

Their mission was to gauge the cyclone's impact on local livelihoods, and map out an emergency plan to help the most vulnerable families get back on their feet through targeted assistance.


Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Burmese women working in the fields in Shan State, Myanmar. The loss of draught animals is a major blow to Myanmar's agriculture output
"We have seen areas very difficult to get to physically – where very few people have been," Albert Lieberg, the team leader, said. Its recommendations are therefore based on an "appropriate picture of reality in the delta".

Overall, the FAO is calling for donors to support a $32 million short-term emergency package, which also includes distributing agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertiliser to around 30,500 of the poorest households in the delta, and providing fishing and processing equipment and boat tools.

The FAO has also outlined a $51 million longer-term recovery and rehabilitation plan to help further boost productivity.

Lieberg warned that without outside assistance, around 52,000 households would be unlikely to be able to plant their monsoon crop this year.

"If the international community has the means, that funding is needed for whoever can help these 52,000 farm families," he said.

ak/ds/mw


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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