 Morjina Begum is a mother of two, and like many women in Bangladesh, she's been raising her family's livestock while her husband worked the land. But in 2020, her remote village in northwest Bangladesh saw one of the worst monsoon floods in 35 years. Morjina managed to save most of her animals, but she watched their home and farmland crumble into the river. FAO knows how important livestock is for families like Morjina's, both as a source of food and income. That's why FAO in July 2020 intervened ahead of the floods through a data-driven process called anticipatory action, and helped communities prepare. When early warning data showed rivers were rising to dangerous levels, FAO quickly distributed animal feed to nearly 19,000 families in the river basin, some 75 kilos each. For Morjina, it meant she could protect her only remaining farming assets when grassland was scarce and buying feed was impossible. And that's important if they want to sell one of their cows to buy new farmland in the future. Even when some loss does not always avoidable in disasters, losing livelihoods often is. That's why FAO also helped crop farmers protect their remaining food and seeds from the rising waters. With support from the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund, farmers like Muni Akta received airtight plastic drums to store their most valuable possessions. Because the drums could float, families could easily bring them along when they had to evacuate. The nuts and grains they protected in their drum provided food while they sheltered on higher ground. And protecting seeds means farmers can plant again as soon as it's safe, without having to take out crippling loans. By providing the right kind of support at the right time, anticipatory action protects both lives and livelihoods. Protecting the focus from recovery to protection is a smarter, more dignified way of supporting communities and it's often more cost effective. That's why anticipatory action is quickly becoming the preferred way of addressing predictable crises. So healthy cows and fertile soils can pave the way to recovery.