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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Kenya: Struggling to keep a goat alive July 12, 2011
I arrived in Garissa, Kenya — a city of at least 180,000 people not far from the border with Somalia — today after a long, hot drive from Nairobi. I’ll be in Garissa and areas to the north for the remainder of the week to see how this year’s drought has impacted families in the area.
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Indonesia: Pushing back the sea July 11, 2011
In October 2010, a tsunami struck Indonesia's remote Mentawai Islands — killing hundreds, displacing thousands and changing the way of life for affected communities and families.
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Indonesia: A video blog from Indonesia's remote Mentawai Islands July 11, 2011
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Somalia: Will the U.S. stand by as famine looms in Somalia? July 7, 2011
"The drought has gotten so bad that we have seen camels dying of thirst," recounted a Mercy Corps colleague during my recent visit to Somalia.
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South Sudan: South Sudan - The birth of a nation July 5, 2011
Mercy Corps began programs in South Sudan in 2004 to help devastated communities rebuild after decades of civil war. As South Sudan declares its independence from the north, Mercy Corps staff looks at the progress the people have made in the past six years.
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Indonesia: Saving for the future, one coffee harvest at a time July 3, 2011
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Guatemala: "Broadcasting" important health and nutrition news in rural Guatemala July 1, 2011
Each time I showed up to small and faraway communities where the heat was unbearable, where there was no electricity to turn on a light bulb, where there was no wind to ease the heat in the air — and where the field workers were parking their motorcycles and placing their gear on the dried grass
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Ethiopia: Tackling water poverty June 29, 2011
The lack of water accounts for enormous challenges for impoverished villages and families in Ethiopia. Mercy Corps is working with communities to ensure sustainable clean water for thousands of people.
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India: Chipping in to help India's farmers grow potatoes June 28, 2011
When you mention potatoes, most Americans would think “Idaho.” Few would think the Kashmir Valley in the Himalaya Mountains. But Mercy Corps did. In 2010, Mercy Corps supported an experiment growing seed potatoes in the upper regions of the Kashmir Valley.
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Guatemala: Molding more than corn — molding nutrition June 26, 2011
One of Guatemala's main staple foods is corn — in fact, Guatemalans sometimes even refer to themselves as “corn people.” One of the traditional ways to consume corn here is in the form of tortillas.