New Delhi – The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said it is distributing 706 draught buffaloes to farmers in cyclone hit regions of Burma in order to help them till their lands in preparation for the next cultivation season.
FAO said the Buffaloes, donated by the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Charitable Foundation, would be given to 353 families and would help them in preparing their land for farming.
"This donation will help hard hit families recover their livelihoods and resume household food production," FAO said in a press statement released on Thursday.
As of October 28, the FAO said it had distributed a total of 3,859 buffaloes. However the figure constitutes only 1.7 percent of the buffaloes estimated to have been lost during the cyclone.
According to the FAO, about 49 percent of buffaloes and cattle in the delta were drown or lost in the cyclone and if not replaced will result in about 122,000 hectares of farmland remaining unplanted or insufficiently prepared, leading to low yields.
"The situation is that farmers have started replanting their fields and these cattle will serve to plough the fields," Nilar Andrea Chit Tun, FAO's communications officer in Rangoon told Mizzima.
She added that without providing the farmers a replacement for the cattle that they lost, food security in the region could be threatened.
According to the FAO, the Irrawaddy delta produces nearly 60 percent of Burma's rice production. While a few analysts doubt the accuracy of the FAO's statistics, it is largely understood that the Irrawaddy delta, which is known as the rice bowl of Burma, contributes a significant percentage of the country's rice production.
Meanwhile, farmers in Laputta, Bogale and Pyapon Townships, which were among the worst hit areas by the cyclone in early May, predict their paddy yield for the upcoming November-December harvest could be below normal due to the failure of seeds and lack of cattle to prepare fields.
An aid worker who visited the Irrawaddy delta two weeks ago said the situation of farmers differs. While a few fortunate farmers are able to work their fields and plant paddy seeds, several others could not find the means to plough because of a lack of cattle or machine tillers.
"I have seen some paddy fields that are in good condition, but some are not, some paddies are not growing and it seems cannot produce rice," the volunteer said.
He said his group is still continuing to provide aid such as oil, noodles and other food items to the delta, but with little aid left in their hands, they are only able to visit once a month.
"There a lot of agencies still providing food and other needs but some villages still have difficulty in getting any supplies. Farmers have also been asking for fishing nets," he said.
With uncertainty over the paddy yields, farmers are looking for alternative jobs such as fishing and selling dry fish to sustain their livelihood, he added.
