More than 120,000 mature draught animals—as well as 66,000 pigs, 498,000 ducks, nearly 7,000 goats and more than a million chickens—perished when the Category 4 storm, and its powerful tidal surge, pummeled the region on 2 and 3 May, an FAO report released on 18 June stated.
 Cows and oxen walk along an embankment as they search for food near a village in Kawhmu Township of Rangoon Division. (Photo: Reuters) |
Burma agricultural authorities and international aid agencies are distributing mechanized power tillers so some farmers who lost their animals can still plough their fields in time for the crucial monsoon planting season, which is supposed to be under way.
But the FAO stated that 15 percent of the cyclone-affected paddy lands—or around 122,782 hectares—are so-called "deep water rice production systems", and cannot be ploughed effectively by mechanized tillers, due to the nature of the soil and its high water content.
"Because of the high water levels in the paddy fields, even during the normal monsoon period there is little alternative to replacing the draught cattle and buffaloes, as mechanical implements are considered not suitable," the report stated.
Burmese authorities are trying to bring 6,000 water buffaloes from other parts of the country into the delta.
But the FAO is appealing for international donors to provide an additional 5,000 draught animals, along with a three-month supply of animal feed, to small farmers so they can be in a position to plant at least 10,000 hectares of rice.
The estimated cost of the initiative, plus additional animal feed for those draught animals that survived but are now too weak and hungry to work, would be about US $3.56 million
The FAO is also recommending that the international community spend $1.86 million to supply ducks and chickens to around 15,000 particularly vulnerable, landless households or female-headed families, for which livestock rearing is a major part of their livelihood.
Targeted assistance
The FAO's appeal follows a needs assessment for the farming, livestock, fisheries and forestry sector in the Irrawaddy delta in the wake of the cyclone.
Over a three-week period, FAO technical experts, accompanied by senior technical specialists from relevant government ministries, traveled extensively in the delta, including very remote areas.
Their mission was to gauge the cyclone's impact on local livelihoods, and map out an emergency plan to help the most vulnerable families get back on their feet through targeted assistance.
"We have seen areas very difficult to get physically—where very few people have been," Albert Lieberg, the team leader, said. Its recommendations are therefore based on an "appropriate picture of reality in the delta".
Overall, the FAO is calling for donors to support a $32 million short-term emergency package, which also includes distributing agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizer to around 30,500 of the poorest households in the delta, and providing fishing and processing equipment and boat tools.
The FAO has also outlined a $51 million longer-term recovery and rehabilitation plan to help further boost productivity.
Lieberg warned that without outside assistance, around 52,000 households would be unlikely to be able to plant their monsoon crop this year.
"If the international community has the means, that funding is needed for whoever can help these 52,000 farm families," he said.
The Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) is a news service that forms part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). But this report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
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