Sichuan Earthquake Agriculture Damage $6 bln - FAO

The May earthquake killed nearly 70,000 people and many thousands are still missing and are probably dead.

The devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province in May caused damage worth $6 billion to the region's agriculture, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Monday.

More than 30 million people in rural communities lost most of their assets, thousands of hectares of farmland were destroyed and millions of farm animals died after the quake, the FAO said in a statement after a recent assessment mission to Sichuan.

"In addition to the human tragedy caused by the disaster ... many rural communities in Sichuan province have lost their means to produce food and create income," Rajendra Aryal, FAO Senior Regional Emergency Coordinator, said in the statement.

"It will probably take three to five years to rebuild the agricultural sector in Sichuan," Aryal said.

The May earthquake killed nearly 70,000 people and many thousands are still missing and are probably dead.

China's cabinet, the State Council, on Monday announced a raft of fiscal measures to support quake reconstruction, including exemptions from land use taxes for new houses, subsidies of 10,000 yuan ($1,460) each for families rendered homeless, and low-interest loans.

"The policy measures scope includes all aspects of reconstruction and restoring production," said a transcript of the State Council plan posted on the central government website (http://www.gov.cn).

The FAO said a significant part of the wheat crop could not be harvested after the earthquake because many farmers died or were injured. Much of the wheat that was harvested before the earthquake was damaged with the collapse of grain storages.

More than 20,000 ha of seed growing areas in Sichuan, which produce up to 20 percent of China's rice seeds, have been badly hit by the quake. The next harvest could face a shortfall of 10-50 percent due to delayed planting, pests and water shortages, the Rome-based agency said.

The FAO estimated overall livestock losses at about $2 billion, with more than 3 million pigs killed by the earthquake.

A shortage of pesticides and fertilisers would hit future food production, the FAO said.

"Urgent provision of fertilisers, pesticides, farm tools and machinery, livestock and reclaiming damaged fields will be the main challenge for the next six months," Aryal said.

China has asked the FAO to coordinate agricultural rehabilitation efforts in Sichuan province, the agency said.