Crop losses in Philippines from Typhoon Haiyan estimated at $110 million

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is reporting that total crop losses in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines almost two weeks ago are estimated at US$110 million.

“Official partial estimates indicate that some 153,495 hectares of rice paddy, maize and other high-value crops such as coconut, banana, cassava, mango and vegetables have been adversely affected,” notes an update issued Tuesday by FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS).

A chart in the update outlines partial estimates of damage caused by the typhoon to agriculture (with losses/damage expressed in million PHP, current UN exchange rate PHP 43.1 to US$1):

• rice – 77,476 hectares affected at losses/damage of about 2.3 billion PHP;
• maize – 20,951 hectares affected at losses/damage of about 285 million PHP;
• high-value crops – 45,068 hectares affected at losses/damage of about 2.1 billion PHP;
• livestock – losses/damage of about 2.3 billion PHP;
• irrigation – losses/damage of about 498 million PHP;
• fisheries – losses/damage of about 1.1 billion PHP;
• agriculture infrastructure – losses/damage of about 1.6 billion PHP.

“High winds, heavy rains and localized floods destroyed houses and infrastructure, including irrigation facilities, and resulted in losses of the main staple rice paddy, sugarcane and coconut crops, as well as livestock, poultry and fisheries,” the update notes.

FAO has called for $24 million for immediate interventions in fisheries and agriculture targeting 250,000 households in the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands of farmers whose crops were destroyed need urgent assistance to sow new seeds before the end of the current planting season, notes a statement issued Tuesday by FAO.

The $24 million – part of the UN-coordinated humanitarian Flash Appeal launched Nov. 12 – will enable FAO to provide farmers with rice and maize seeds, tools, fertilizer and small irrigation equipment to allow them to plant during the secondary season, the statement notes. Families will also receive vegetable seeds to help bridge the gap before the next harvest.

FAO reports that the assistance also seeks to provide support to affected fisher and fish-farming communities.

In the medium-term, FAO will collaborate with partners on cash-for-work and food-for-work programs to clear farms of debris and rehabilitate agricultural infrastructure.

The typhoon caused damage in the central part of the country to the 2013 main season rice crop – harvesting for which was well-advanced – as well as badly disrupted planting of the current 2013-2014 secondary season, which ends in late December, notes the FAO statement.

Damage to the main season paddy crop by both Typhoon Haiyan and Typhoon Nari in October, coupled with disruption to the planting of the second season, is expected to result in lower rice production than anticipated for 2013. GIEWS has downgraded its forecast for the 2013 rice production from 18.9 million tonnes to 18 million tonnes.

“The five regions most severely affected by the typhoon in terms of cereal crop losses accounted for one-third of the total rice production in 2012,” notes the statement.

An FAO assessment team is currently in typhoon-damaged areas to get a more detailed picture of crop and rural infrastructure damages and the needs of affected populations.

Image: A building flattened by Typhoon Haiyan rests just outside of Roxas in the Philippines on Nov. 18, 2013. (Photo Credit: Corporal Darcy Lefebvre, Canadian Forces Combat Camera)