United Nations, Muharram 15, 1436, Nov 8, 2014, SPA -- The United Nations on Friday said that the Philippines is starting to recover from Typhoon Haiyan, a year after the storm swept through that caused damage to the livelihoods of farmers and fishers on the islands. "Farmers are the backbone of this recovery and the key to build community resilience to future disasters," U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director Jose Graziano da Silva said in a statement. Haiyan was the largest typhoon in the past century, and it killed thousands, affected 9.8 million people, displaced 4 million, and destroyed 500,000 homes when it struck in November 2013, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The typhoon caused $12 billion in damages as it has affected the schools, hospitals, and public services' infrastructures. --SPA 11:44 LOCAL TIME 08:44 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w