Natural disasters such as drought and floods cost developing countries $US96 billion in damage to crops and livestock between 2005 and 2015, highlighting the need to step up protection for poor farmers, the United Nations said.
Half the total damage – $US48 billion – occurred in Asia, according to a report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization launched at a Hanoi conference last Thursday.
“Asia is always, in terms of natural hazards, the most-hit area simply because so many tropical storms and heavy monsoon rains hit that region,” Stephan Baas, a risk advisor at FAO and one of the study’s authors, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Besides precipitation, Asian agriculture was also affected by earthquakes, tsunamis and extreme temperatures, the report said.
Drought alone caused $US29 billion of the damage to the agriculture sector across all developing countries, the study showed, making it a major threat to food security and incomes.
In Africa, agricultural losses from natural disasters amounted to $US26 billion over the decade, and in Latin America and the Caribbean, $US22 billion. Drought was the costliest disaster for crops and livestock in those two regions.
Crop pests and animal diseases caused about $US6 billion of the losses to African farmers.
Climate change is likely to worsen the threats and challenges from natural disasters, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said in a statement.
Efforts to reduce the risks of disasters and manage them better must be part of modern agriculture if sustainable development is to be achieved, officials added.
“The main purpose of the report is to give evidence to policymakers and planners so they know what can be avoided,” said Mr Baas.
Measures to curb risks include using seeds that are resilient to drought or floods, early warning systems for extreme weather, and access to insurance and finance for farmers, he added.
The report, which excludes industrialised countries, will be updated every two years, and used as a tool to monitor global commitments to tackle poverty and climate change, noted Mr Baas.
Globally, about 2.5 billion people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, the FAO report said.
