FAO’S DISASTER RESPONSE PROGRAMME IN HAITI
Background Information
• 7.3 Richter scale earthquake on 12 January 2010
• 200,000‐300,000 people killed
• Over 300,000 injured
• 1.7 million persons homeless
• 0.6 million urban displaced to rural areas
Agricultural Sector Impact
• 32% of farmers in affected areas lost seed stocks of which 4% lost their livelihood
• 29% of farmers in affected areas lost homes or encountered severe damage
• Reduced agricultural incomes
• Distorted markets
• Sale of assets e.g. livestock to cope with urban to rural movement
Early Responses
• Flash appeal launched on 15 January 2010 and revised on 18 January amounting to US$1.4 billion
• Agricultural component of flash appeal amounted to US$73 million
• Donors’ Conference in NY on 13 March
• Agriculture cluster in Haiti activated on 19 January headed by FAO
FAO Emergency Funding in Haiti
• Before earthquake, FAO emergency portfolio in Haiti amounted to US$24.3 million for watershed management, seed multiplication and input distribution
• US$6.2 million were reallocated to respond to the emergency
• To date US$19.2 million received from several donors against the flash appeal
FAO Emergency Funding in Haiti –
Cont’d
• In addition, US$10 million in projects are currently in the pipeline
• 42.6% of the US$45.2 million programme
proposed by FAO in the Flash Appeal have been funded to date.
FAO Response/Delivery
Spring Season
• FAO distributed 1075.7 tonnes of seeds (cereals, pulses and vegetables), 100,000 tillage tools and 2,435 pieces of processing equipment
• Impacted on 72,000 families or approximately 360,000 persons in the hardest hit areas by the earthquake and by rural migration
Summer Season
• FAO would have distributed the following inputs to 80,000 families – 600 tons of beans, 625 tons of maize, 40 tons of vegetable seeds, 580 tons of rice, 500,000 agricultural tools and 1,500 tons of fertilizer.
• For the urban and periurban programme for 10,000 families, 200 water pumps, 1,000 tons of fertilizer and 10 tons of vegetable seeds were distributed.
Winter Season
• The distribution plan for the winter season is under preparation, but would focus on seed multiplication, drainage basins improvements, reforestation, the preparation of urban agricultural projects and the creation of rural employment.
Hurricane Season
• FAO’s preparedness plan for the hurricane season involves the storage of 250 tons of beans and maize seeds and 50,000 tools in three strategic locations around the country.
• The plan is based on:
‐ Seed multiplication projects backstopping strategic stocks
‐ Watershed, reforestation and land management as priorities for DRM
FAO’s Short‐Medium Term Strategy
• FAO supported the Ministry of Agriculture in Haiti with the preparation of a 6 year investment plan for the growth of the agricultural sector. Investments for the 2010‐
2016 plan amounted to US$791 million.
• FAO then designed the “FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation 3‐year programme in support of the Investment Plan of the Government of Haiti”.
FAO’s Short‐Medium Term Strategy
• The programme has 3 interlinked components
i) Coordination
ii) Support to food security
iii) Reduction of risk related to natural disasters
During June 2010 FAO submitted a number of proposals to the UNDG for funding
i. Support to seed multiplication, urban and periurban agriculture, livestock and fisheries improvement
ii. Preparation and preparedness for natural disasters
iii. Rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure and watershed management
iv. Labour programmes for the rehabilitation of infrastructure for production
v. Restoration of coastal zones
Action of the Rome Based Agencies
• The three Rome based Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP) established a Task Force in February 2010 to support the Government of Haiti in food security and related agricultural interventions and prepared a joint plan of Action.
• The objective of the plan is to ensure that food security is safeguarded on an increasingly sustainable basis in post‐earthquake Haiti.
The five key areas of support under the plan are:
• Short‐term humanitarian aid intervention (food distribution to 2.5 to 3 million people in 2010);
• National nutrition programme to prevent malnutrition, particularly for children;
• Improved household food security (programmes
aimed at boosting in the next agricultural campaigns food crops productivity and production through distribution of agricultural inputs, watershed management and reforestation);
• Risk reduction and risk management (early warning, contingency planning for the hurricane season, decentralized stocks and warehouse facilities);
• Enhanced national policies and institutions (legal framework for food security and capacity development both of decentralized and national institutions).
Assessments and Measurement of Impact
• FAO will be involved in the following assessments during the July‐September period.
i) A Seed System Security Assessment by CIAT and FAO
ii) FAO/WFP Food and Crop Assessment
iii) WFP/FAO Second Emergency Food Security Assessment
Agriculture Cluster
• The Agriculture Cluster started the week after the earthquake in Haiti and establish several working groups to assist the Ministry in the coordination of the response (assessment, seeds, prices and beneficiaries work groups).
• FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture is the Lead for the Agriculture Cluster. At present there are over 170 different organizations active in agriculture in Haiti.