Planting the seeds of recovery in the Philippines after typhoon Haiyan
More than 6,200 people died and 14.1 million were displaced when Super Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) struck the Central Philippines on 8 November 2013.
The category 5 typhoon was one of the strongest to ever make landfall and the devastation was immense, with both the strong winds and storm surge devastating lives and livelihoods. Damage to the agriculture and fisheries sector was extensive, with the Philippines Department of Agriculture reporting 1.1 million tonnes of crops lost and 600,000 ha of farmland affected. The total cost to agriculture was estimated at USD 724 million.
FAO ensured that affected rice farmers could plant in time for the December/January rice planting season, providing 75% of the Government requested rice seed support. Once harvested in March/April 2014, the rice production packages provided to 44,000 affected families will yield enough to feed more than 800,000 people for more than a year.
FAO’s emergency response cost around USD 5 million and is expected to yield around USD 84 million in rice, providing real value for money to donors.