Over 23,000 Households Needed Immediate Assistance Following TC Yasa, Parliament Hears
Following TC Yasa, an estimated 23,725 households in Zones 1 and 2 were identified to have needed immediate assistance, revealed Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment, Dr Mahendra Reddy in his Ministerial Statement to Parliament on Monday (8.2.21).
The Minister provided an update to the House on the assistance provided by the Ministry of Agriculture following TC’s Yasa and Ana.
He revealed the immediate assistance rendered to affected households was made following the findings from the Initial Damage Assessment (IDA) where after 72 hours of TC Yasa, the Ministry recommended the provision of three months food ration to NDMO for households in Zone 1 and 2.
“In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture commenced the immediate food security response which included the distribution of vegetable seed packages for home gardening, root crop cuttings, and other planting materials targeting household in Zones 1 and 2, which is estimated to be 23,725 households,” he told the House.
Minister Reddy said over 19,000 affected households were provided home gardening seed packages, over 7,000 households received kumala and bele cuttings, and 2,000 households given cassava cuttings as part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s immediate response within six weeks post TC Yasa.
“In addition, the Ministry distributed live chicks, starter and growers to more than 1,000 poultry farmers and over three metric tonnes of sugar to 190 bee farmers to assist in the rehabilitation of their stock.
“Due to significant loss of livestock from TC Yasa, vets from our livestock division were deployed through mobile clinics to provide immediate free veterinary services to affected livestock farmers.
He said as part of the Ministry’s early intervention, this veterinary team provided free services to livestock farmers, including the provision of free veterinary medication, and helping with the rehabilitation of their livestock.
Minister Reddy revealed, it was the first time that the Ministry’s TC Yasa Detailed Damage Assessment (DDA) collected data via hand-held devices using the online Kobo Toolbox software application.
“This online system ensured the timely collation of DDA data at Headquarters during assessment period. The survey captured over 19,000 household interviews from affected farmers which comprehensively assessed the impact of TC Yasa,” the Hon. Dr Reddy explained.
(Source: The Fijian Government, 10 February 2021)
https://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Centre/News/OVER-23,000-HOUSEHOLDS-NEEDED-IMMEDIATE-ASSISTANCE