ROME — The devastating earthquake in China last month caused around $6 billion in damages for farmers in Sichuan province and killed millions of farm animals, a U.N. agency said today.

An estimated 30 million people in rural communities were affected, many losing most of their assets, the Food and Agriculture Organization said. It will take three to five years to rebuild the agriculture sector in the southwest Chinese province, the agency said.

The FAO released the statement after a mission traveled to Sichuan to assess damage from the 7.9-magnitude quake on May 12, which killed 70,000 people.

The Rome-based agency said the quake also killed more than 3 million pigs — with some villages losing up to 70 percent of their livestock — caused grain stores to collapse and damaged agriculture machinery.

"Many rural communities in Sichuan province have lost their means to produce food and create income," said Rajendra Aryal, a senior regional emergency coordinator for the agency. "It will probably take three to five years to rebuild the agricultural sector in Sichuan."

Wheat crops could not be harvested after the quake because of the deaths and injuries of farming families; most of the wheat that had been harvested before the quake was lost when grain stores collapsed, the agency said. Because of the shortage of pesticides and fertilizers, future production also is in danger.

Vegetable crops were lost when greenhouses collapsed, rice fields dried up because of craters and irrigation systems have been interrupted, according to the report.

FAO, which said it was asked by Chinese authorities to coordinate efforts for agricultural rehabilitation in Sichuan, said urgent action over the next six months would include provision of fertilizers, pesticides and farm tools as well as the reclaiming of fields that were damaged.

Medium- and long-term efforts will include rehabilitation of water reservoirs, animal shelters and the training of farmers.