Agriculture & Food
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Photo: Erin Gray/Mercy Corps
Most of the world doesn't have the benefit of picking up food from the corner store — they grow it themselves. A family's plot of land has to provide for their nutritional and economic needs.
When food shortages occur due to drought and conflict, Mercy Corps helps prevent hunger and treat malnutrition in the most vulnerable — children, pregnant women, the elderly and the displaced.
Distributing food is necessary in times of crisis, and we always try to procure food from local suppliers to save money, ensure faster delivery and support of the local economy. Learn more about the success of this model in Niger (PDF) ▸
In addition to emergency responses, we quickly focus on long-term solutions that strengthen harvests and livestock for the long-term. Mercy Corps works with families to ensure quality inputs, smart land use, good crop yields and a fair price at local markets.
All stories about Agriculture & Food
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Zimbabwe: Better living through treadle pumps December 15, 2010
One of the greatest challenges that smallholder farmers face in Zimbabwe is how to irrigate bigger plots and get higher returns from their pieces of land.
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Uganda: ‘Staying lonely is not easy’ December 8, 2010
In a place for the displaced, two women share a common bond; one wisened and weathered, the other young, ambitious and full of ideas.
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Afghanistan: Searching for the next Frank Perdue November 15, 2010
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Tajikistan: Turning water into cash November 15, 2010
“For the last three years, my yields have been 30 percent of what they were before,” says Sabur Kumischev, as he makes a sweeping motion with his hand indicating the land where his crops are grown. “All I could grow was corn. The other farmers could only grow corn.
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Zimbabwe: VIDEO: Basic technology boosts incomes in Zimbabwe November 11, 2010
On my first day in Zimbabwe, I went to visit some farm families in the town of Murejwa. People are poor there, and Mercy Corps is working with them to find ways to boost their incomes.
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Afghanistan: Better than meeting Springsteen November 11, 2010
Some people are thrilled to meet rock stars or celebrities. I, on the other hand, get really excited about meeting grape growers.
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Pakistan: Nothing more precious than a buffalo November 10, 2010
Small farmers all over Sindh province were hit hard by this past summer’s catastrophic flooding. Most of these farmers are very poor, living on less than $2 a day.
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Haiti: How we're helping families in Haiti's rural villages November 5, 2010
I arrived in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday of this week, just ahead of Tomas, the tropical storm that just passed through Haiti today.
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Timor-Leste: Small disasters with no voice are important too November 2, 2010
In Timor-Leste (East Timor), this year’s weather has caused more serious problems than ever encountered in living memory and beyond. The dry season was meant to start last March.
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Indonesia: Chocolate starts out tasting like vanilla yoghurt — who knew? October 23, 2010
Whenever I travel, I’m always sure to pack an emergency supply of chocolate. But until yesterday, when I saw cacao trees for the first time and talked to cacao famers in Indonesia about the help they are getting from Mercy Corps, I’d never really thought about where it comes from.