Although 70 percent of its population generates income through agriculture, Nepal struggles to produce an adequate, affordable supply of safe, nutritious food, especially for women and other disadvantaged groups. Nepal is also one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world with frequent and devastating earthquakes, droughts and floods.

Our efforts to strengthen resilience in Nepal have created a strong foundation for recovery from a major earthquake in 2015 and protected previous development gains, including in childhood nutrition. Feed the Future reached farming communities hit hardest by the disaster to expand agricultural development activities, like raising goats, that allowed farmers to increase revenues and rebuild their homes. Feed the Future also unlocked access to finance for these communities to invest in commercial agriculture so that farmers could better provide for their families. Despite major setbacks from the earthquake, Nepal has made important strides in nutrition and food security. In areas where Feed the Future works, for instance, stunting in children under five years old has dropped by 39 percent since 2011.

In 2020, Nepal faced a wave of COVID-19 infections, causing an unprecedented strain on the country’s health system. Subsequent movement restrictions severely disrupted food systems. To protect progress and bolster food security, Feed the Future worked directly with Nepali farmers and business owners. For example, we connected vegetable producers in the Kathmandu Valley to online delivery companies, enabling smallholders to maintain produce sales while providing access to fresh, nutritional food sources to local families.

Today, Feed the Future continues our partnership with the Government of Nepal, as well as local communities and private-sector groups, to strengthen markets and resilience, reduce hunger and raise family incomes.