The United Nations needs another 10 million euros (13.8 million dollars) in emergency aid for earthquake-hit Peru, where damage is worse than originally thought, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Tuesday.
"Some 13.8 million dollars are needed to help feed and restore the farming and fishing-based livelihoods of the affected population," the Rome-based agency said in a statemnt.
"The situation is a lot worse than previously thought. In addition to hunger and homelessness, the devastation sustained by farming and fishing communities will have a profound impact on the local economy," FAO representative in Peru Luis Castello said.
The FAO has already raised over one million dollars (732,000 euros), "but significantly more funding is needed to assist an estimated 162,200 people living in rural areas along the coast and in the Sierra mountain region."
The money will go to help repair agricultural and fishing infrastructures.
"In urban areas, assistance will also focus on helping people grow their own food through home and school gardens," said FAO.
The area around the southern town of Ica, home to 700,000 people, is the second-highest cotton-producing area in Peru, as well as the one of the major producers of important export crops such as grapes, chili and onions, according to the FAO.
