FAO-rice to 11,380 households in Ketsana-affected province

FAO-rice to 11,380 households in Ketsana-affected province

(KPL) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has distributed improved rice seeds in five provinces that were affected by last year�s devastating typhoon Ketsana in the southern parts of Lao PDR, according to yesterday�s press release of FAO.

Two teams distributed seeds directly to 11,380 households in 238 target villages in the five provinces. A total of 440 tons of rice seeds were distributed from the end of February to the middle of April 2010.

The distribution was done by the FAO emergency staff in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and provincial agriculture and forestry office and district agriculture and forestry office in sixteen districts in the five affected provinces: Savannakhet, Saravane, Champassak, Attapeu and Sekong.

In some cases, the teams could not access villages as there are not roads for example in Kalum district, Sekong province.

�We are happy that the farmers got their seeds before the next planting season. We have tried to reach all targeted villages as planned despite many roads being damaged or under reconstruction� explains Mr. Boun Ome Soulideth, FAO emergency staff.

�Even though Ketsana hit the country a few months ago, the people living in the affected areas are still suffering its consequences. Rice stocks and harvests were lost, and many people are still struggling with food shortages�, says Serge Verniau, FAO Representative in Lao PDR.

�Households continue struggling to rebuild their livelihoods and their own means of food production. There is still an emergency for many of these families� Mr. Verniau added.

The FAO rehabilitation work in the typhoon-affected areas has began with the support of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and will continue thanks to the support from the Government of Sweden and the Principality of Andorra that have respectively provided 3 million Sweden krona and 24,985 euro to the FAO to assist with the relief work for communities affected by typhoon Ketsana.

Typhoon Ketsana affected some of the most vulnerable and poor districts in Laos. The disaster has been classified as the most severe in the region in the last 40 years. More than 180,000 people were severely affected and many of them became food insecure as houses, storage facilities, and rice fields were washed away by the storm and subsequent floods.

The UN has since September worked in close cooperation with the Lao government to assess the emergency needs and provide assistance to affected communities.

kpl