The Need for Premium Agri-fisheries for the Disaster-Affected Areas of Leyte, Philippines

Abstract

On 8 November 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda (internationally, “Haiyan”), a category-five typhoon, traversed the central Philippines. It was reportedly the strongest recorded storm ever to hit land, with winds over 300 km h -1 and storm surges over 4m around coastal towns of the central Philippines. Total losses from the storm were PHP 571.1 billion (USD 12.9 billion); the estimate for Leyte Province was PHP 9.4 billion. In Leyte, the typhoon almost totally destroyed most crops, fishing boats and gear, aquaculture infrastructure, seaweed farms, mangroves, onshore facilities, and markets. The Leyte Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan was initiated to restore the economic and social conditions of the people in Leyte to at least pre-typhoon levels, and to establish greater disaster resiliency. However, to simply reestablish pre-typhoon conditions would be a missed opportunity. The tragedy should be used to foster sustainable and climate-resilient agri-fisheries in the province of Leyte. The typhoon calamity demonstrated that the current practice of mono-cropping (or monoculture) is unsustainable and not resilient to climate change. Agriculture systems that are small-scale and labor-intensive, with diverse crop strategies that consider on-farm, farm-related, and off-farm food and income generation should be developed. Fisherfolk and coastal communities need holistic programs that ensure destroyed areas are sustainably rebuilt with a long-term perspective. Premium fisheries programs should develop the capacity of fisherfolk to diversify their income sources. The focus should be on the link between nutrition and agrifisheries to improve nutrition. This would involve incorporating crops with various nutritional values, crop duration, seasonality, and resilience to the changing climate into farms, home and school gardens. Successful post-disaster recovery will require an effective partnership with the local people. To be sustainable, the local people must take ownership of the development project; this requires knowledge and sensitivity to local cultures, beliefs, and practices.