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On 13 March 2015, Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu with devastating force. The Category 5 storm brought 250 km/h winds, heavy rains and flooding, displacing thousands of people, flattening homes, destroying vital infrastructure and causing severe damage to agriculture. Initial assessments in all six provinces showed that the cyclone had caused extensive damage to agriculture, from cash crops to subsistence farming. As part of its response, FAO, in consultation with the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC), identified households in need of emergency assistance and prioritized them for seed distribution. FAO and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) subsequently launched the Emergency Assistance for Tropical Cyclone Pam Project to Help Communities Rebuild Food Security, helping households become food self-sufficient again.
As part of the project, FAO, in partnership with the NGOs Oxfam and Action for Peace, reached out to remote communities in the provinces and worked with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in the capital, Port Vila, to distribute seeds and leaflets for restoration gardens. In total, nearly 50,000 people were assisted across the country, thanks to a US$211,375 contribution from the Central Emergency Response Fund.
Melina Lamai and her family are among the many beneficiaries of FAO’s assistance
Melina Lamai is an urban subsistence farmer in Port Vila, Vanuatu. When Cyclone Pam hit, communities were flattened, gardens destroyed, clean water supplies affected and livelihoods destroyed. More than 80% of the population depend on agriculture, including Lamai’s family, who suffered greatly as they relied on food from their garden to feed their family.
“I am proud of my garden and I am proud of agriculture because it has helped me to have such a productive garden,” said Lamai, adding that the losses from Cyclone Pam were both severe and personal. Lamai lives with her husband, two children and six grandchildren. She spends most of her time at home, catering to the needs of three generations, for whom home gardening is their main means of livelihood. Therefore, the destruction of Lamai’s garden was a huge blow to her family of ten. Most of her crops were lost and her family began to rely on emergency rations, including rice, packaged noodles and canned fish.
With the help of FAO and its partners, Lamai received five seeds to rebuild her garden: dwarf beans, pumpkin, sweet corn, papaya and watermelon. These crops begin to bear fruit after one month (dwarf beans), three months (sweet corn/squash/watermelon) and six months (papaya). Overall, the benefits of the garden are twofold. First, Lamai uses the garden to meet her family’s dietary needs, growing healthy crops for cooking. She sells her excess vegetables at the market, earning a small income that helps her family further sustain themselves.
“I am really happy to receive these seeds. My vegetable garden is now better than before the hurricane,” said a smiling and confident Ramai.
A good example to follow
City life in Vanuatu’s capital can be tough. The disaster has further exacerbated existing and underlying problems such as unemployment and high living costs. Without homegrown produce, many city families will struggle to make ends meet and will need to rely on store-bought food rather than nutritious, fresh produce grown home.
Lamai and her family are an example of how small agricultural inputs can make a big difference in nutrition, livelihoods and resilience.
For the entire project
By the end of the project, a total of 366 households, or 2.5% of the beneficiary households, were surveyed, with 98% of those who received seeds having planted them, 62% receiving instruction on sustainable planting methods, and 97% now eating three meals a day, compared to 62% after Cyclone Pam.
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