First Chicks Delivered on Viti Levu

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For Immediate Release

20th April 2016

First Chicks Delivered on Viti Levu

Today, (Tuesday 20th April) on Viti Levu, 313 small farmers, including women will each take delivery of a box containing approximately 12 day-old chicks.

They are the first beneficiaries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Livestock Emergency Response Project, funded by the donor agency, the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA).

FAO is working closely with Government on this project, and officers of the Ministry of Agriculture are responsible for the safe delivery of the livestock.

A further 37 deliveries to farmers, women’s groups and households will take place on Vanua Levu and Taveuni tomorrow, Wednesday 21 April, 2016.

In all, 4,200 chicks will be delivered to 350 farmers and women’s groups in Fiji, those poultry farmers who lost their livestock in Cyclone Winston and Zena. They will also receive sufficient feed stocks to grow the chicks to maturity, in five to six weeks’ time, when they will be ready for use both as a source of protein and to assist in generating income.

Because of the scope of the devastation, there are large numbers of people who have lost their crops and/or livestock. In selecting farmers to receive the chicks, Government prioritised those with the most immediate needs.

The selections were based upon vulnerability assessments carried out by Government and availability of donor funding.

Damage to crops and livestock by T.C. Winston has been estimated at USD 104 million, with affected families at risk of becoming dependent upon food aid in the coming months.

FAO, in coordination with Government, is targeting three priority areas, crops, livestock and fisheries, to restore food supplies and sources of income for those most badly affected by the cyclone.

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