Rebuilding Livelihoods in Communities Affected by El Niño in Timor-Leste - TCP/TIM/3609

Abstract

The impact of the 2015/16 El Niño episode is one of the most wide-reaching ever recorded, with an estimated 60 million people affected worldwide by drought, floods and extreme cold weather. The situation was particularly serious in Timor-Leste, where production of maize and rice fell by 13 and 71 percent respectively in 2016. Some farmers planted and lost their crops on a number of occasions. Some 48 percent of drought-affected households (around 60 382 households) reported an animal death, while 21 percent (around 29 050 households) reported sick animals, due to shortages of water and food. This was potentially catastrophic for a country in which livestock-rearing is one of the most important sources of income and plays a key role in supporting livelihoods. The situation severely affected districts across the country, leaving around 40.6 percent of the agriculture-dependent population (345 400 people) food-insecure, and further aggravating the overall poor food security and nutrition situation in the country (26.9 percent of the population was considered undernourished for the period between 2014-2016).