Briefing on the Humanitarian Consequences of El Niño and the Need for Urgent Action

 

Briefing on the Humanitarian Consequences of El Niño and the Need for Urgent Action

Statement by the FAO Liaison Office to the United Nations

7 January 2016, UNHQ, Conference Room 2

                                                                                                                                                         

 

Mr Chairman,

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Poor rural families in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific will be among the most affected by the current El Niño. Keep in mind that this El Niño comes on top of a poor 2014-15 farming season in many parts of the world. This means that it is hitting already weakened agricultural livelihoods.

 

FAO is working with OCHA, WFP and other UN partners, national governments, international resource partners and non-state actors to support affected communities.

 

The support FAO is providing includes:

• Helping countries coordinate their national agricultural sector responses,
• Sharing information, and,
• Providing direct support to affected rural communities.

 

Information is key. FAO is producing reports updating on the the impact of El Niño on agriculture and food security so that countries can better plan their responses. The reports are shared with partners and can be found on the FAO in Emergencies website.

 

FAO supported the governments of countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Uganda and the Philippines in developing agriculture sector response plans.

 

FAO is also adjusting existing FAO projects and tapping internal funding sources to jumpstart support and implement emergency responses in 15 high priority countries in Central America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific. We have been able to redirect around 10 million dollars through these efforts. The funds are being used in activities such as:

 

• boosting cash for work programs in Somalia,
• providing emergency livestock feed for pastoralists in Ethiopia,
• providing drought tolerant crops and short-cycle crops to farmers in Fiji and Southern Africa,
• training farmers in Vanuatu on food preservation methods, and,
• distributing seeds and tools in Haiti.

 

This is a beginning, but it is not enough. Estimates show that emergency and recovery responses involving FAO will require around 250 million US dollars.

 

Let me conclude by saying that we must look beyond the current emergency. In the context of climate change, we cannot treat this current El Niño as a once in a generation event. We need to respond to the crisis but also build resilience in rural communities. This is the only way they will become better prepared to face future extreme climatic events.

 

Thank you for your attention.