In the most affected districts they were almost completely destroyed and over 70 percent of cattle had perished. The simultaneous occurrence of loss of agricultural opportunities, additional pressure on safety net programmes, significant loss of labour opportunities, and destruction of the economic infrastructure have left the State Government to address all of these problems concurrently. The recovery process from the cyclone has been slow due to subsequent drought conditions in the state, which has jeopardized the fragile progress of rehabilitation. In the agricultural sector, FAO studies have recently indicated that small landholders and tenant farmers are facing multifaceted setbacks, with the result of cereal shortage of 68,000 Mt in the 6 WFP supported districts. Not yet fully recovered from the effects of the cyclone, GoO s safety net system has not been able to respond effectively to the shortfall in the cereal availability to the most vulnerable population.
People continue to struggle for survival from multi-sectored setbacks to their coping capacity.
It raises questions about the future of the several million children and women most affected by the cyclone. Certainly special efforts are warranted for these vulnerable segments. WFP has taken certain steps in the aftermath of the cyclone. WFP, in collaboration with NGOs, generated 2,533,000 workdays. Of this, women perform 34 per cent of the activities.