Roundup: Recent floods deal devastating blow to agriculture, food security in Myanmar: report

Recent floodings in Myanmar have dealt a heavy blow to the Asian country, leaving a trail of devastation across its rice paddy and threatening the country's food security, a new report on Tuesday said.

The report, compiled by Myanmar alongside the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), painted a grim picture of the destruction when Cyclone Komen struck in late July and early August.

More than half a million hectares of rice paddy were affected and almost a quarter of a million livestock killed, including poultry, cattle, pigs and goats,, the report said.

A press release on the finding revealed rice have been the most-affected crop, with an expected slash in production of up to 89 percent in damaged paddy fields, compared to the same time last year.

Some parts of the country lost entire paddy plantations. Seeds, fertilizers and tools were also lost in the disaster, the report said, adding that many farmers risk missing the start of the upcoming winter and summer agriculture seasons.

More than 250 thousand livestock were lost in the six worst-affected regions/states assessed. It hit women especially hard as they are generally in charge of these animals.

For restocking of small livestock, the FAO and WFP highlighted the provision of animal feed and vaccines for preventing the spread of disease and supporting the survival of animals.

Flooding was also devastating for the aquaculture and fishing industries in Myanmar have also been affected based on FAO's and WFP's observation in worst-affected regions, with almost 30,000 hectares of fish and shrimp ponds gone, as well as fishing equipment, such as nets, traps, boats and engines.

FAO and WFP stressed that the regions of Ayeyarwady, Bago, Chin, Magway, Rakhine and Sagaing were among the worst-affected, and most families in those areas are heavily dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Cyclone Komen struck Myanmar in late July and early August this year, bringing strong winds and additional heavy rains to Myanmar, resulting in floods and landslides. According to the National Natural Disaster Management Committee, 122 people lost their lives and up to 1.6 million people were displaced.

FAO and WFP called for more international support to replace livestock, seeds, fertilizer, tools and equipment for affected farmers. In addition, the affected communities need assistance to rehabilitate land, irrigation systems and access roads.

"Half of all losses were in agriculture, in regions where people rely on crop production and livestock to feed their families," said Bui Thi Lan, the FAO representative in Myanmar. "We must urgently meet the immediate needs of these families, support agricultural recovery and help them rebuild resilient livelihoods to cope better with future crises."

WFP Resident Representative and Country Director Dom Scalpelli highlighted the need for urgent asset creation programmes to benefit the most vulnerable and food-insecure communities.

"These activities will provide the necessary cash to cope with the immediate emergency needs as well as help rehabilitate productive assets for early recovery after the shock," he said.

WFP and FAO also warned that the flooding could have other consequences for poverty and economic development.

Additional findings of the assessment showed that affected populations have begun to engage in "distress coping mechanisms such as borrowing money and selling productive assets in order to access food."

The report concluded that rehabilitation of infrastructure, such as irrigation schemes, has been identified as a priority by affected populations assessed. Enditem