Zero hunger: today’s actions secure tomorrow

THE EDITOR, Sir:

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE for warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Climate change is resulting in more frequent and intense extreme events that take a heavy toll on food production, food security, and people’s livelihoods, and reverse development gains.

Results from a 2017 study from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) titled The Impact of Disasters and Crises on Agriculture and Food Security revealed that between 2006 and 2016, the agriculture sector alone absorbed 23 per cent of total damage and loss caused by medium- to large-scale natural disasters worldwide.

At the national level, these numbers can represent a significant percentage of GDP or even exceed it. In Dominica, for example, the losses of Hurricane Maria in 2017 represented 224 per cent of its GDP. Moreover, the repercussion of the impact on Dominica had implications for many other islands in the region as the country is an important supplier of food for the Eastern Caribbean.

Across the globe, small island developing states (SIDS) are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially hurricanes, storms, floods, droughts, and tsunamis. Economic losses in SIDS stemming from disasters jumped from US$8.8 billion for the period 2000-2007 to over US$14 billion between 2008 and 2015, the report shows.

However, despite being one of the most vulnerable sectors to natural hazards, the impacts on agriculture, and, notably, the direct economic damages and losses caused by these events, are rarely quantified. Additionally, without a record of losses in monetary value, it is arduous to assign regular and sufficient budgetary allocations for comprehensive risk management and adaptation to climate change in the agricultural sector. In order to fill this gap, the FAO has developed a corporate “Damage and Loss (D&L) methodology for the evaluation of damage and losses in the agriculture sector and its subsectors, including crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, and forestry. It is grounded on a standardised set of procedural and methodological steps that can be used at global, national and subnational levels.

The newly developed methodology will support developing countries in the collection and analysis of data in order to build holistic information systems on the impact of disasters and crises on agriculture. By systematically improving disaster damage and loss assessment, FAO’s work will directly contribute to implementing and monitoring the achievement of specific targets of the SDGs and indicators of the Sendai Framework. In Latin America, it has already been adopted by Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

SHORTCOMINGS

To address the shortcomings and to build capacities in Caribbean SIDS, the subregional workshop ‘A Harmonised Approach for Conducting PostDisaster Needs Assessment and Damage and Loss Analysis and Reporting in the Agriculture Sector’ was held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, from September 17-18.

The adoption and institutionalisation of standardised evaluations on damage and loss in the agriculture sectors will enable us to ensure consistency and comparable results across countries and subregions. Data and evidence on how disasters affect agricultural livelihoods will allow for the development of targeted and appropriate policies, strategies, and financial mechanisms for risk reduction and resilience building in the agriculture sector.

ANNA RICOY Regional Disaster Risk Management Officer FAO