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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Haiti: A step forward for some, a step back for others September 12, 2011
This was my fifth trip to Haiti.
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Ethiopia: Helping more than 647,000 Ethiopians survive drought August 23, 2011
Our emergency response efforts in Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali Regions — two of the areas hit hardest by the region's worst drought in 60 years — continue to expand. We're now reaching 647,005 people, about 22,000 more than reported in our last update from Ethiopia.
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Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia: Horn of Africa disaster didn't happen overnight August 23, 2011
Photos and stories from the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa — a region that includes Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia — have brought to light suffering on an almost unimaginable scale.
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Iraq: Mending livelihoods and catching hope in southern Iraq August 18, 2011
Hassan Sabri is a 33-year-old fisherman, and one of the beneficiaries of a recently-completed Mercy Corps Iraq livelihoods project. Our team provided nets to poverty-stricken fishermen in Al Bihar sub-district, which is located 90 kilometers away from the southern city of Basra.
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Ethiopia: Helping ensure that Ethiopian herders don't lose everything August 7, 2011
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Indonesia: Kid-friendly food carts take on child malnutrition August 2, 2011
The slums of Jakarta, Indonesia are home to some of the poorest families in Asia. The city — one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with more than 28 million people — has dozens of such places, where thousands of people live cramped in close quarters.
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Kenya: Solitary herder outside Hadado, Kenya August 2, 2011
A traditional herder stands on the withered landscape outside the drought-stricken town of Hadado, Kenya.
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Ethiopia: Stitching land back together in drought-hit Ethiopia August 1, 2011
The land in Lacole, part of the Oromo Region in southeast Ethiopia, looks like it’s literally been torn apart.
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Georgia: Cash cows: On the ground with Georgia's dairy industry July 29, 2011
My cab driver was yelling something that sounded like "khows, khows!" I hadn't the faintest idea what he was talking about until I saw the spotted figures in the distance and realized he was saying "cows."
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Guatemala: Fresher food, better nutrition, happier families July 28, 2011
In the northern highlands of Guatemala, the signs and symptoms of malnutrition are a common sight: stunted growth, underweight bodies and visible fatigue.