Conclusions given herein are considered appropriate at the time of its preparation.

Typhoon Sarika (local name: Karen) made landfall in Aurora Province on 16 October with maximum winds of

120 kmh and gusts of up to 200 kmh. Three days later, Typhoon Haima (local name: Lawin) struck, making landfall

in Cagayan province with sustained winds of 225 kmh and gusts of up to 315 kmh. Food security and rural

livelihoods were severely disrupted as hundreds of thousands of farming families reeled from humanitarian and

economic crises caused by these extreme weather events.

Typhoon Haima & Sarika APRIL 2017

ASSESSMENT

The Department of Agriculture (DA) estimates that

399 143 ha of agricultural land was affected by

typhoons Haima and Sarika.

Of the total area affected by the two typhoons, about

86 percent was planted to rice, the hardest hit

sub-sector.

Approximately 516 133 metric tonnes of rice, valued at

USD175.7 million, were either damaged or lost.

Damage to fisheries was estimated at USD1.1 million,

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USD 233 million worth of damage to the agriculture sector

648 656 metric tonnes of crops lost, including rice, corn and high value crops.

399 143 hectares of agricultural areas affected in seven regions

170 936 farming households affected. Nearly 70 percent

(118 038) of them are rice-farming households.

Source: Department of Agriculture,

Typhoon Haima and Sarika Assessment, 4 November 2016

Q U I C K F A C T S

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The country’s rice granary, Region III (Central

Luzon), which was also hit by typhoons Koppu

and Melor a year ago, once again bore the brunt

of the disaster. Of the more than 69 000 farmers

affected by typhoons Haima and Sarika in the

region, over 44 000 are in Aurora and Nueva Ecija

provinces.

Those who were engaged in backyard gardening

also lost their vegetables.

livestock at

USD607 000 and

agricultural

infrastructure and

fisheries facilities at

USD6.4 million.

FAO Representation in the Philippines | 29th Floor, Yuchengco Tower, RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Tel. No: (02) 901 0363 | FAO-PH@fao.org

www.fao.org/philippines | www.fao.org

FAO participated in coordination meetings of the United

Nations Humanitarian Country Team’s Emergency

Response Preparedness Working Group (HCT-ERPWG),

through which it provided updates on the impact of the

typhoons to the agriculture sector.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), with support from

FAO, launched drone-aided post-disaster mapping

missions in critical areas. Information gathered was

subsequently processed at the FAO-supported Disaster

Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Operation

Centre in Quezon City and used by the Government for

response and rehabilitation planning.

At the request of the Government, FAO is currently

distributing fertilizer, assorted vegetable seeds and hand

tools to 4 300 farming households in hard-hit

municipalities in Nueva Ecija and Aurora provinces. This

augments resources delivered by DA and will help ensure

that the most affected and most vulnerable farmers will be

able to harvest rice by April 2017, as well as produce

vegetables for household consumption and

supplementary income.

FAO SUPPORT

vulnerable farmers could harvest rice by April 2017, as

well as produce vegetables for household consumption

and supplementary income.

FAO also conducted training programmes for provincial

and municipal agricultural technicians, extension workers

and local farmer trainers on resilient rice-based farming

systems. The training modules were designed to be

integrated into the government’s regular extension

activities and technical advisory services for farmers.

At the regional level, technical assistance was also

provided to strengthen the disaster response capacities

of DA staff.

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At the request of the Government, FAO

mobilized the distribution of fertilizer,

assorted vegetable seeds and hand tools

to 4 324 farming households in hard-hit

municipalities in Nueva Ecija and Aurora

provinces.

FAO’s assistance augmented the

resources delivered by DA to help ensure

that the most affected and most

© FAO, 2017 I7103EN/1/04.17