Preliminary assessments indicate that the crop damage from Hurricane Matthew in Haiti is expected to be dramatic. Reports say that almost 100 percent of crops were destroyed in Grande-Anse and more than 90 percent in Sud departments. With much of the country relying on subsistence production to meet their food needs, restoring agriculture-and fishery-based livelihoods is critical to avoid dependency on food aid in the coming months.

A Flash appeal was issued to provide immediate support to 750,000 affected people. Under this framework, FAO requires USD 9 million to provide immediate crop, livestock and fisheries support to 300,000 Hurricane-affected people. The medium-to long-term recovery costs will be greater, but estimates are not available at this time.

On 3 October 2016, Category 4 Hurricane Matthew, the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since Hurricane Georges in 1997, cut a path of destruction across Haiti, carrying devastating winds, heavy rainfall and widespread damage in the southwest of the country: the most affected departments are Grande-Anse, Sud, Sud-Est and Nippes. The death toll from Hurricane Matthew in Haiti is rising, at least 336 have died and cholera is spreading. An estimated 2.1 million Haitians (more than 20 percent of the population) were affected and 1.4 million are in need of assistance.

The hurricane has aggravated the effects of El Niño-related events, including a drought which has already diminished food production and access to fresh water over the past year. The combined effects will further reduce peoples’ capacity to purchase food to feed their families, or agricultural inputs in order to resume production.