The Australia, FAO and WFP delegation interacting with corn farmers harvesting their crop during their visit to Tuao Municipality in Cagayan.

A delegation from the Australian Embassy to the Philippines, World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was in Cagayan Province to meet farming families who were most affected by Typhoon Ulysses (international name ‘Vamco’), which in November 2020 caused the worst flooding in the last four decades in the province and an estimated PHP6.1 billion in infrastructure and agricultural damages.

Australian Ambassador Steven J. Robinson AO, Ms Brenda Barton, WFP Representative and Country Director; and Ms Tamara Palis-Duran, Assistant FAO Representative in the Philippines for Programme were in the province from 28 to 29 October 2021 and met local government partners and farmer-recipients to hear their first-hand experiences and understand the benefits, challenges, and lessons from the initiative.

In the aftermath of Typhoon Ulysses the Australian Government immediately provided about PHP19 million (AUD500,000) funding support to WFP and FAO to implement a joint project to address livelihood and food security needs of affected smallholder farmers and fishers in Cagayan.

“It is important for me to be here in Cagayan and meet the families, as well as our partners on the ground.   This helps me understand their experiences following Typhoon Ulysses, and see how Australia’s Partnerships for Recovery can save lives,” said Ambassador Robinson. 

“Through our collaboration with WFP and FAO, we are able to direct our project to respond to the immediate and recovery needs of communities here in Cagayan.   This is our mateship and bayanihan in action – that in the aftermath of disasters, Australia is able to alleviate suffering and protect human dignity, as well as to prevent and strengthen preparedness against these events.”

The joint project between Australia, WFP and FAO supported the restoration of agriculture-based livelihoods and the improvement of food security and nutrition of 1,718 farming and fishing families in the six adversely affected municipalities of Peñabanca, Tuao, Piat, Claveria, Sanchez Mira, and Santa Praxedes.

Support provided by the project included cash-based transfers of PHP2,600 per family and in-kind assistance in the form of fertilizers, vegetable seeds, fishnets, and fingerlings. A total of 1,125 families received both cash and in-kind assistance, while 593 families received in-kind agricultural inputs.

Ms Barton of WFP said, “the climate crisis is no longer a glimpse into the future but a daily reality for communities around the world. Here in Cagayan, where Typhoon Vamco has caused severe damage, we see how storms and floods are putting more and more lives and livelihoods at risk, and threatening the gains made by the people and the government to improve the agriculture and fishing sector.”

Ms Duran of FAO emphasized the importance of both emergency response and building the resilience of our agricultural producers, saying, “resource-poor smallholder farmers and fisherfolk are among the most exposed and the most vulnerable to natural disasters such as typhoons, floods, and droughts. Apart from providing emergency assistance, it is also important that we build their preparedness and resilience so they are more ready to face such stresses and lessen the impact on their lives and livelihoods.”

At the project’s evaluation workshop, beneficiaries lauded the initiative, saying its interventions were exactly what they needed to help them recover from Typhoon Vamco’s devastation, particularly on their livelihoods and food and nutrition security. The government partners also cited the training provided to them through the project, will help them improve their disaster preparedness and response capacities.