ROME, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has asked for 5.6 million dollars to help farmers affected by the May 27 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java to swiftly resume their work.

    Early recovery of the agriculture sector is essential for the quick and sustainable improvement of rural people's livelihoods, according to new report from the FAO.

    The FAO's appeal is part of the United Nations' Inter-agency Earthquake Response Plan launched last week, which calls for 103 million dollars to meet survivors' immediate needs for emergency shelter, medical assistance, clean water, sanitation and food over the next six months.

    Preliminary estimates indicate approximately 100,000 farming households in earthquake-affected districts of Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces have lost their productive assets and source of income. Harvesting could be delayed this season or crops completely lost, according to the FAO.

    "Farming families will not be in a position to replenish their stocks of agricultural inputs easily," said Rajendra Aryal, emergency coordinator for the FAO's tsunami rehabilitation programme in Indonesia, adding that much needs to be done to restart animal husbandry activities and repair damaged irrigation wells.

    Aryal said the FAO would be able to build upon experience gained from post-tsunami rehabilitation efforts while implementing its post-earthquake initiatives.

    The FAO has assisted the Government of Indonesia in assessing the needs of vulnerable households in the affected areas. Farmers represent 40 percent of the rural population in Yogyakarta Province, and they need immediate assistance in the form of rice, secondary crop and vegetable seeds, fertilizer and agriculture equipment to resume food production.

    Lost livestock also needs to be replaced, livestock shelters, trading markets and veterinary laboratories quickly rebuilt, animal vaccines replenished, and damaged irrigation systems repaired.