Disaster Risk Reduction for Agriculture sector in the Asia-Pacific region

On the morning of March 15^th, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Le Quoc Doanh and Ms. Saulye Janimkhan, Deputy Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia and Mrs. Kundhavi Kadiresan, Deputy Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations (FAO) cum Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific region hosted the inaugural session of the Regional Conference on "Strengthening resilient food and agriculture systems – Implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Agriculture Sector in Asia and the Pacific”.

The conference took place on 15^th and 16^th March in Hanoi with the participation of 200 delegates and development partners from 28 countries in Asia and Pacific region to provide directions for the Sendai Action Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction from 2015-2030 in the field of agriculture.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Le Quoc Doanh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that agriculture is a vital concern for many countries in the region. Agricultural development, especially food production, has helped Vietnam stand up in global and regional economic crises, maintaining economic growth and stabilizing society. "Clearly, in the context of climate change and urbanization, poverty can not be eliminated without enhancing the resilience of agricultural-dependent livelihoods, especially smallholders," said Le Quoc emphasized.

The Sendai Action Framework calls for disaster risk management to be integrated into all areas of development. This is important not only to reduce disaster losses but also to prevent and minimize risks, better adapt to climate change and achieve the World Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the past four decades, the financial damage caused by natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific has increased 16 times.

In a press release issued at the conference, FAO warned that protecting agriculture against climate change and extreme weather needs to be a priority in the Asia and Pacific region. Although climate change and extreme weather events are affecting the environment in many ways, agriculture and food production in the Asia and Pacific region are among the most affected areas and needs to be prioritized for protection.

Droughts, floods and natural disasters are increasingly common in Asia and the Pacific area, the most disaster-prone region in the world. Disasters can have an immediate impact on food production. The FAO, therefore, is working with Member States, farmers, academia, civil society and the private sector to improve adaptation and mitigation of climate change and reduction of crisis for agriculture sector.

At the conference, FAO published the Global Report on "Impacts of Natural Disasters and Crises on Agriculture and Food Security in 2017". The report points out that between 2005 and 2015, disaster damage accounted for an estimation of around 96 billion USD in crop and livestock production loss in developing countries. Drought is one of the leading causes of 83% economic loss, with damage to agriculture estimated at 29 billion USD. The report also warns that this is not a full picture because we still lack information about the losses in aquaculture and forestry.

Discussing the risks faced by farmers in aquaculture and forestry, the delegates attending the conference shared good experiences in reducing risk and strengthening resilience, identifing priorities for further implementation of Sendai Action Framework in the agricultural sector.

The outcome of the conference will be presented at FAO's 34th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference next month in Fiji to determine priorities within the next two years. These recommendations will also be announced at the discussions of the 2018 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The conference is to discuss the implementation of the Sendai Framework in the region, scheduled to be hosted by the Mongolian Government in July 2018.