IRIN
MYANMAR: 5,000 water buffaloes needed in cyclone-hit south, says FAO
18 June 2008


BANGKOK, 18 June 2008 (IRIN) - Five thousand water buffaloes are 
urgently needed to help farmers in the Ayeyarwady Delta prepare for 
planting after a massive loss of draught animals and other livestock in 
last month's cyclone, according to the UN Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO).

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, 
pummelled the region on 2 and 3 May, an FAO report released on 18 June 
stated.

The lost draught animals would have been used to plough about 120,000 
hectares of paddy-land per season to prepare it for planting, the report 
stated, and their loss is a major setback for the area's rice-production 
potential.

Myanmar agricultural authorities and international aid agencies are 
distributing mechanised 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 mechanised 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.

Myanmar 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 Ayeyarwady delta in the wake of the 
cyclone.

Over a three-week period, FAO technical experts, accompanied by senior 
technical specialists from relevant government ministries, travelled 
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 to 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 fertiliser 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.


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