Stories from the field
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VANUATU
FAO and partners help restore nutrition and agricultural livelihoods in the Pacific Islands
Melina Lamai is an urbansubsistence farmer from Port Vila, Vanuatu.When Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 tropical storm,struck Vanuatu in March 2015, communities wereflattened, gardens demolished, access to cleanwater affected and livelihoods shattered. Withover 80 percent of the population dependent onagriculture, including Lamai’s family, the losses weredevastating as they relied on food from their gardento feed their families.
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PHILIPPINES
Philippine seaweed farming flourishes after Typhoon Haiyan
For 31-year-oldJessica Paguia, from the Tagbanua indigenousgroup on the Philippine island of Coron, farmingseaweed is a family affair and has been their mainsource of income for this small coastal community forthe past 20 years.
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PHILIPPINES
Restoring coconut farmers’ livelihoods in the Philippines
Coconut is one of the most important crops in the Philippines with the country being the second largest coconut producer in the world. After Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) struck the country in November 2013, an estimated 44 million trees were damaged or destroyed, affecting around 1 million coconut farmers. In response, FAO implemented the Coconut-Based Farming Systems programme which was part of the Organization’s USD 39.7 million Typhoon Haiyan Strategic Response Plan aiming to address the recovery needs of affected farming families.
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NEPAL
After the earth moved, Nepalese planted seeds
After two major earthquakesand hundreds of aftershocks rocked Nepal in2015, many remote farming communities were leftcompletely devastated. In a country where four out offive people depend on agriculture for theirlivelihoods, the disasters dramatically increased thethreat of food insecurity, particularly for subsistencefarmers and their vulnerable families.
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MYANMAR
Rebuilding resilient communities after conflict and disaster
Thein Shwe’s house inTaung Ywar Ward appears to be leaning. The roofis patched together with tarpaulin and bamboo andslopes precariously over the single-storey structure. Itlooks unlikely to withstand a strong storm, let alonethe impending monsoon rains.Reflecting on the torrential rains that struck thetownship of Buthidaung the summer before, TheinShwe expresses her desire to maintain the house.“I don’t know what the future weather conditions willbe like and so I want to improve the house,” TheinShwe told FAO.
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MONGOLIA
Award-winning forester helps fight malnutrition while greening the steppes of Mongolia
Few people have donemore than Tsendsuren Deleg to make Mongoliagreener and create jobs for people at the same time.Born 63 years ago to a herding family, struggling forsurvival on the broad expanse of Mongolia’s steppes,Deleg knows how hard life can be. The area, known asthe Great Plains, has a harsh dry climate that makesfinding nutritious food, especially fruits andvegetables, a real challenge. But Deleg would one dayprove it was a challenge that could be overcome.
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Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Geographical Indication expected to boost Laotian coffee exports
Bounthong Thepkaisone wadesthrough a five hectare coffee plantation near MaiVillage. He has been growing coffee here since he lefthigh school almost 30 years ago. He moves carefullyamong the plants, recalling what his parents taughthim about nurturing coffee bushes, always givingthem shade while removing the surrounding grass.
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INDIA
Toward a sustainable catch
All along India’s eastern coasta storm is brewing. Traditional fishers areincreasingly coming into conflict with the crews ofmechanized trawlers that ply the waters of the Bay ofBengal and further down the coastline into the IndianOcean.
