Burma sulter, og burmeserne mangler arbejde. I den vestlige del af landet, der blev ramt af orkanen Giri i okotober, er store dele af afgrøderne ødelagte, oplyser UNDP.
NEW YORK, 10 November 2010: According to assessments by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, as much as half of the rice fields in Rakhine State’s worst affected areas were destroyed. At least 7.500 fish-farming households lost aquaculture ponds and boats that cost between 20 US dollar and 70 each to replace.
Some 260.000 people were affected by the 22 October cyclone, with 71.000 homeless and more than 17.000 hectares of agricultural land estimated destroyed, according to UNDP assessments.
“My plantation was destroyed and I don’t have the money left to buy food or housing materials,” said Daw Aung Khin Oo, one Rakhine resident who lost all her belongings in the 200 km/hour winds.
In much of Rakhine State, rice can be grown only once a year and is an essential part of the local economy. The crop provides employment for landless labourers, and both cash and food for the farmers who cultivate between two and five acres of land each.
UNDP has been implementing its Human Development Initiative projects since 1994 and currently covers 443 villages in Rakhine State’s eight townships. In these locations it focuses on basic livelihood needs such as income generation and food security, and water and sanitation.
