On the ground before, during and after crises
FAO is working in over 50 countries, before, during and after crises to provide emergency assistance to those that depend on agriculture to survive.
![On the ground before, during and after crises](https://www.fao.org/images/devgenderlibraries/projects/on-the-ground-before5.jpg?sfvrsn=1559469d_10)
©FAO/Sonia Nguyen
Hassan Al-Hassan, a Syrian farmer known to locals as Abu Hasan, remembers how difficult it had been in the past few years in the village of al-Rabeha in the southern governorate of Homs. “Due to lack of water, we could hardly produce anything,” said Abu Hasan.
FAO is helping to restore access to water for over 40 000 families – about 240 000 people – including 4 000 families in Abu Hasan’s community. “It is the best thing we could have dreamed of. This year’s production is four-times higher than the last three years,” Abu Hasan said joyfully.
Such projects have helped farmers remain on their land, feed their families and even produce vegetables and fruits to meet the needs of residents in surrounding villages.
Torbeck, a commune in southern Haiti, was severely hit by Hurricane Matthew. People lost their lives, thousands of houses were destroyed, thousands of hectares of crops and trees were lost, and thousands of animals perished, and those that survived are often sick.