Emergency assistance to families in Tuvalu after Cyclone Pam
In early March 2015, Tropical Cyclone Pam caused severe flooding and destruction to major food crops on the low-lying outer islands of Nui, Nukulaelae and Nanumaga. Following a request for assistance, FAO provided support to the most affected households on the three islands, supplying essential agricultural inputs and technical support to revive their agriculture livelihoods. Technical assistance was also given to the Department of Agriculture to strengthen its capacity to manage future disasters.
What did the project do
The project was implemented in synergy with a project funded by the Government of Australia that renovated the centralized nurseries on Niu, Nanumaga and Nukulaelae, and provided agricultural tools and fencing materials, and training. The current project focused on restocking the central nurseries on the affected islands with planting materials and the provision of relevant nursery management training. It also provided agricultural inputs to the most affected households on Nui and Nanumaga to enable them to re-establish their gardens and restore their livestock infrastructure. Finally, it restored the local pulaka pits destroyed by flooding to ensure the continued cultivation of this staple food.Impact
The assistance provided and the partnerships developed not only provide short to medium-term benefits but will also contribute to long-term sustainability. The re-stocking of the island’s nurseries, the establishment of cement pulaka pits and the bulking-up of pulaka varieties will ensure a continuous supply of planting materials for households to plant food crops. The households affected by Cyclone Pam now have increased resilience to recover from future disasters.Activities
- Nursery management training materials prepared and training provided to ministry staff and communities.
- Planting material collected from other islands, improved and propagated for distribution.
- 145 households selected to receive planting and fencing materials, and other inputs.
- 179 households with piggeries provided with fencing materials and supplementary feed.
- 70 farmers trained in propagation, transplanting and aspects of crop and tree planting, farm management, soil improvement practices and animal husbandry.
- Inventory of remaining pukala varieties conducted and threatened swamp taro varieties identified for conservation.
- 23 pukala pits restored and materials provided to build 20 concrete pukala pits.
- Swamp taro provided to all three project islands.
Project symbol: TCP/TUV/3502
Project title: Emergency Assistance to Support the Agriculture Livelihood Recovery for Affected Families in Outer Islands of Tuvalu Following Cyclone Pam
Contact: FAO Office in Tuvalu / Viliami Fakava (Lead Technical Officer)
Download PDF: http://www.fao.org/3/a-bt828e.pdf