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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Niger: Fighting malnutrition January 5, 2009
In Niger, an estimated 10% of children under five are considered malnourished. Malnutrition is often tied to other illnesses such as malaria, parasites and diarrhea and if not treated can have severe implications for a child’s physical and mental development.
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Afghanistan: Improving water distribution for farms and orchards December 16, 2008
In Afghanistan, half the population lives below the poverty line and the unemployment rate is 40%. Of those who do have jobs, most work in agriculture. Improving agriculture is key to reducing hunger and poverty in Afghanistan and good water management is key to improving agriculture.
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Nepal: Helping Poor Farmers December 8, 2008
In Nepal today, more than half the population has no access to even the most basic financial services. In rural areas, farming families are trapped in cycles of debt and are often forced to sell their crops at below market rates, further slipping into poverty.
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Myanmar: Kitchen Gardens in Bo Kone December 8, 2008
Bo Kone, Myanmar — Life here in Bo Kone, a village of about 1,000 people, has never been easy. Located on an isolated island in the Irrawaddy Delta, it's about an hour's boat ride to the nearest town.
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Myanmar: A Welcome Harvest December 8, 2008
Bo Kone, Myanmar - It would be hard to overstate the importance of rice to the people of Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta. Rice is the staple food around which all meals are built. It is the cash crop that fuels the local economy.
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Myanmar: Bold Woman Makes a Difference December 8, 2008
Yangon, Myanmar - When a massive cyclone pounded Myanmar six months ago, Mra Sabai Nyun knew exactly what she wanted to do.
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Myanmar: Navigating Change in the Delta December 8, 2008
In early May, Cyclone Nargis tore through Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, its merciless rains and 120-mile-an-hour winds destroying hundreds of low-lying villages and killing more than 140,000 people.
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Mongolia: Better School Lunches - No, Really November 25, 2008
Bat-Ulzii, Mongolia - Throughout much of Mongolia, school meals are the only nutrition that students receive.
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Mongolia: Shepherding Tradition November 25, 2008
The title of "Master Herder" is reserved for a select few across Mongolia. It conjures up a distinct image: an aged but still eminently capable man dressed in traditional robes, standing on the vast steppes, exercising an almost mystical control over his livestock.
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Mongolia: Faces of the Gobi November 25, 2008
Here are some of the people and landscapes we encountered on a two-week, 1,600 mile journey over Mongolia's deserts, mountains and steppes.