FAO Director-General Visits the Typhoon-Stricken Philippines

The FAO Director-General Jose' Graziano da Silva visited Tacloban and surrounding areas four months after Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines. Interacting with FAO supported small-scale fishers and farmers over lunch, he visited their rice fields, and was accompanied by Proceso Alcala, the Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture. To date, with generous support from Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, FAO has delivered critical rice seed packages to around 44 000 affected farmers in time for the December/January planting season. More than 1,800 tonnes of certified quality rice seed are being delivered along with fertilizer and farming