The high impact of natural hazards and disasters on agriculture

This brochure presents the preliminary findings of an FAO study on the impact of natural hazards and disasters on the agriculture sector and sub–sectors in developing countries.

The core findings of the study are:

• The agriculture sector – including crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry – absorbs approximately 22 percent of the economic impact caused by medium and large scale natural hazards and disasters in developing countries;

• The high impact of natural hazards and disasters on agriculture calls for enhanced mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience building within the agricultural sectors;

• There are major data gaps on the impact of natural hazards and disasters on the agriculture sectors in developing countries. This sector–specific data must be systematically collected and included in national and international disaster loss

databases to better inform appropriate risk reduction policies and investments for and within the sector;

• Humanitarian aid and official development assistance to the agriculture sector is small when compared with the economic impact and needs in the sector. More investment is needed in DRR to build resilient livelihoods and food production

systems;

• The agriculture sectors need to be mobilized as proactive implementation partners for the delivery of the post–2015 framework on DRR so as to enhance local action and build resilience of the most vulnerable, which are often also the most

food insecure

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Source & Copyright: FAO