FAO quantifies impact of natural disasters on agriculture

Nearly a quarter of damages caused by natural disasters in the developing world are borne by the agriculture sector, according to preliminary findings of a new study of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The findings, released at the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, say more than 22 per cent of the damages caused by natural hazards—such as drought, floods, storms or tsunamis—are accounted for by the agriculture sector.

According to study, during drought period, agriculture absorbs up to 84 percent of all economic impacts. Within the agricultural sector, 42 per cent of assessed losses were that of crops.

These damages and losses are often incurred by poor rural and semi-rural communities without insurance and lacking the financial resources needed to regain lost livelihoods. Yet only 4.5 percent of post-disaster humanitarian aid in the 2003-2013 period targeted agriculture, the findings point out.