FAO to focus on providing relief aid in coastal areas
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced on Tuesday that it would focus on resuscitating the livelihoods and socioeconomic activities of fishermen affected by the recent devastating tsunami in Aceh.
Within two weeks, the agency will distribute tools to repair boats, fishing gear and traps, as well as provide assistance for redesigning vessels to be more adaptive to the situation, FAO director general Jacques Diouf said.
"We believe (coastal rehabilitation) should be a priority in the area. We're focusing on human beings, so that they can go back to their world, get out of this tragedy and have employment," he told a media conference in Jakarta.
Diouf said it was essential to provide financial assistance to poor families and small-scale fishermen who rely on daily catches of fish for consumption and sale, to ensure household security of coastal families.
The Dec. 26 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which killed nearly 115,00 people in Aceh and North Sumatra, badly affected some 30,000 hectares of coastal areas. Farm animals were killed and crops washed away or ruined by saltwater floods.
Diouf said at least 17 percent of fishing infrastructure was affected, such as ice facilities, fish landing ports, fishing gear and storage.
The coast's agriculture was also severely damaged or destroyed by seawater intrusion on crop land, such as paddy fields.
Many water reservoirs and wells could no longer be used because of contamination, while irrigation canals and drainage facilities were ruined too.
Seawater needs to be drained from agricultural land and the land tested for suitability to agriculture. Irrigation facilities should also be repaired and the quality of other agricultural water sources need to be analyzed.
"The saltwater directly impacted paddy fields. Crops cannot grow because of the increasing level of salinity. We have to deal with saltwater as soon as possible by pumping it out," said Diouf.
Fortunately, he added, the soil in Aceh is damp. "As long as the soil is wet, it's fine and it will fasten the rehabilitation. When soil is dry, there is a chemical reaction that is difficult to revert. So, it's good that we have the rainy season now."
Once the rainy season ends, however, problems will rise.
Diouf said financial and other assistance should soon be provided to small-scale farmers in order to start production and the possible diversification of agricultural activities.
The FAO will distribute fertilizer, seed, small livestock, animal feed and vaccines to restore the livelihoods of farmers in the affected coastal agricultural areas, he added.
Diouf said the United Nations had appealed for some US$26.5 million from member states, for a six-month program to help finance agricultural and fishery emergency projects in the tsunami-affected countries.
An appeal has been made for several billion dollars for the long term or five-year program to rebuild the farming and fishing sectors, he said.
"The difficulties are the fact that everything is destroyed and disorganized. Many experts and human resources have gone," Diouf said.
However, he said, Indonesia was doing a tremendous job in terms of coordination and mechanism in relief efforts. "The international solidarity has been amazing, not just for funding and material, but also in terms of people who are going there to help and work."