FAO and disaster risk management for agriculture in developing countries Piero Conforti Federica Angelucci Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Workshop on Risk Management in Agriculture: Towards Effective Policies OECD Conference Center 22-23 November 2010
Increase in the frequency of extreme natural events 2
Outline Natural disasters and vulnerability in developing countries agriculture Identifying strategies: risk layering, markets and livelihood FAO intervention 3
Damages due to extreme natural events urce: EM-DAT Disaster Database -University of Louvain 4
Decreasing incidence of casualties due to natural disasters urce: EM-DAT Disaster Database -University of Louvain 5
Population in developing countries is more vulnerable 1991-05 data 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 Oecd Developing Total # of events 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Oecd Developing Total Damage per event (Million USD) # of persons affected per event urce: EM-DAT Disaster Database -University of Louvain 6
Beyond disaster risk management Vulnerability to disasters is related to: poverty missing/incomplete markets lack of investment/technical solutions incomplete information policies These affect both the level of damage and the appropriateness of responses 7
Example: vulnerability in Mali 8
Risk management strategy: layering Layering = identifying areas in prob distribution of losses Public participation increases when moving towards tail risks In developing countries agriculture retention and insurance layers may not work as expected: subsistence farming imply sub-optimal risk coping strategies incomplete credit and insurance markets prevent consumption smoothing outcomes may not be reversible 9
Livelihood and risk management Risk management is related to livelihoods support: protecting assets supporting local markets and services provision supporting risk transfer, mitigation, extension and technical change In terms of layering: promote the ability to retain and insure, to reduce the impact of tail events enhanced services market, community-based arrangements and value chain integration contribute to mitigate exposure to natural disasters 10
Policies Subsidies increase farmer s ability to retain risks Less protected/taxed farmers rely on services and informal smoothing mechanisms: Mitigation strategies and risk aversion can perpetuate subsistence, hinder specialization and productivity growth and generate poverty traps (Dercon, 2004; Carter, 2008; 2005; Barrett et al, 2008) 11
In practice: Effective prevention and management of disasters needs to ensure consistency among: development projects and programs risk analysis, information and surveillance emergency response rehabilitation 12
FAO Strategic Objective 1 Improved preparedness for, and effective response to, food and agricultural threats and emergencies Intervention areas: risk assessment and information disaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation mainstreaming risk management in Government policies rehabilitation and reconstruction Crisis Management: 1. Intelligence and Coordination Unit, 2. Emergency Prevention and Early Warning Unit 3. Rapid Response Unit 13
Information and risk assessments The FAO Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS): reviews world food supply/demand and reports on the world food situation provides early warnings of impending food crises in individual countries undertakes Crop and Food Security Assessment Missions (CFSAMs) with the World Food Programme in countries facing serious food emergencies 14
Information and risk assessments The FAO Emergency Prevention System for Trans-boundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) Focus on pests, diseases and food safety threats. 3 systems: animal health plant protection and locusts food safety Interface: national authorities for food safety, health, agriculture; trade associations; food producers and processors; consumer organizations; other NGOs; intergovernmental organizations 15
Support to prevention Enhancing practices for crop, livestock, land and water management Integrated pest management Conservation agriculture Integrated watershed management Precautionary fishery measures Water quality programs Adaptation to climate change Land tenure Investment: infrastructures seeds production, storage, vaccine banks, cold chains 16
Support to preparedness FAO Guidelines and Toolkits: Guidelines for Disaster Risk Management Systems Analysis Guidelines on Protecting and Promoting Good Nutrition in Crisis and Recovery Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) Socio Economic and Gender Analysis for Emergency and Rehabilitation Towards effective and sustainable seed relief activities Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine (RADAR) Technology for Agriculture (TECA): Good Disaster Risk Reduction practices 17
Mainstreaming disaster risk management into national policy Examples Caribbean: mitigation of climatic hazards in agriculture and hurricane preparedness for agriculture Horn of Africa: strengthening the capacity pastoralist communities to withstand drought Indonesia: after the tsunami; good practices for long term sustainable fisheries development 18
Mainstreaming disaster risk management into national policy Example: Grenada: simulations of weather insurance ag insurance based on hurricane index can be effective in providing rehabilitation resources for main cash crops (nutmeg and cocoa) link between credit and insurance public (and donors) participation Similar work started in Mozambique (cotton) 19
Rehabilitation and reconstruction Recent interventions Haiti: inputs to urban and rural farmers repairing agricultural infrastructure inputs for livestock (poultry) monitor outbreaks of avian influenza Kyrgyzstan: seeds, fertilizers, veterinary support, extension small-scale irrigation infrastructure coordination of emergency and rehabilitation Pakistan: seed and fertilizer for the Rabi 2010 and Kharif 2011 planting seasons and restoring basic irrigation restoring livestock assets, (vet support, shelters feed) rehabilitation of fisheries and forestry 20
Co-ordination and collaboration FAO participates in: the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) adopted by UN members in 2000, to coordinate efforts for reduction in disaster losses and build resilient nations. ISDR implements the Hyogo strategy -- from 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan the CERF-UN Fund (with UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, WHO and others): pre-position of humanitarian funds to ensure effective channeling 21
To conclude Frequency of extreme events is increasing; agriculture in developing countries is vulnerable Reducing vulnerability to improve risk management in all layers improve the functioning of inputs and output markets promote services provision (insurance and credit markets) information and early warning improve preparedness and ex-post disaster risk management Build risk management into ag development policies FAO intervention is consistent with this approach 22
Thank you more information at http://www.fao.org/emergencies/tce-home/index-emergencies/en/ 23