ROME, September 11, 2008 (AFP) - The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday launched an appeal for 10.5 million dollars to get Haiti's farm sector back on its feet following four major storms in the past month.

With much of Haiti?s agricultural land under water, the FAO said the money was needed to 'help rebuild farm livelihoods, restart food production and to fight the spread of animal diseases,' according to a statement.

'Before the recent series of storms, Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, was already experiencing chronic food insecurity as a result of underlying poverty compounded by the global rise in food prices,' it said.

The storms had destroyed or severely damaged the country's entire current harvest, it added.

More than 600 people died in the storms, including two hurricanes, which unleashed widespread flooding and devastation in the impoverished nation.

UN emergency relief coordinator John Holmes said Wednesday in Mexico City that around 800,000 people, or 10 percent of the population, had been affected, with many still in urgent need of food and shelter.