After Haiyan: Integrated Programming for Economic Recovery

Jun 22, 2014 | by The SEEP Network

The first installment in this webinar series focused on the experiences of SEEP member Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) work in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan.

When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013, 5.6 million people lost their livelihoods and it was estimated that the impact on the local coconut industry was around $396 million. In the aftermath of this crisis, Catholic Relief Services' recovery efforts included an agricultural livelihoods project that supported over 6,000 farmers and agricultural laborers previously dependent on the coconut industry. In the face of challenging market conditions, CRS' integrated programming provided cash-for-assets as well as vouchers to purchase seeds, tools, and equipment. In addition to this direct support to beneficiaries, the program also provided indirect market support to local blacksmiths and other market opportunities for agricultural vendors. This integrated approach that combined cash-for-assets and access to agricultural inputs has allowed beneficiaries to earn income as well as link them with agro,input suppliers, thus putting them at the center of their own recovery.

The webinar explored the following questions:

• How did CRS catalyze income and employment opportunities for Haiyan-affected communities using market integrated programming?

• What market support was needed to restore market channels?

• What were the major challenges for market-integrated relief, in the early market-constrained context post-Haiyan?

Speakers:

Dina Brick - Technical Advisor, Food Security and Markets team at Catholic Relief Services

Dina is a technical advisor on CRS' Food Security and Markets team, in the Humanitarian Response Department. She has over 10 years of experience in food security, agriculture, environment, and livelihoods programs in emergency, early recovery and development contexts. Dina joined CRS in 2005 in Chad, and has subsequently been based in Burundi, Haiti and most recently in the CRS headquarters in Baltimore. She currently supports disaster risk reduction and livelihoods resilience programs globally, with a focus on market-based approaches to food security and livelihoods. She holds a Masters from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Megan McGlinchy - Senior Advisor, Food Security and Markets team at Catholic Relief Services

Megan is Senior Technical Advisor for Food Security and Livelihoods in CRS' Humanitarian Response Department. She has over 10 years' experience in food security programming, with particular expertise in market-based programming, market assessment, response analysis, cash and voucher programming, and alternative modalities of food assistance. Before joining CRS in 2006, Megan worked as an agro-forestry Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania, on urban food security programs and local food systems domestically, and as Head of Sub-Office for WFP in Mauritania. Megan has worked at CRS' East Africa Regional Office and in West Darfur before her current role in Nairobi. She is trained in the Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA) Toolkit and worked with Cornell University on the Market Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis (MIFIRA) Framework. She holds a Masters Degree in agricultural economics from Michigan State University.