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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Ethiopia: One year later, helping children survive in the Horn of Africa July 25, 2012
You might hear it called a “slow onset” emergency because, unlike the sudden strike of an earthquake, drought builds gradually. But don’t bother telling that to the mothers whose children are hanging on by a thread; slow isn’t the word they would choose. Grueling, they might say. Nerve-wracking.
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Haiti: Farmers digging deep to repair the land July 12, 2012
Haiti is a land stripped bare.
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Nepal: Harikala, green mango pickle maker June 28, 2012
Harikala makes green mango pickles. Thanks to Mercy Corps, she received a loan to purchase spices, oils, tools and containers. She repaid that loan and took out a second one to expand her business.
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Niger: Harvesting hope in the Sahel June 16, 2012
The hunger crisis is devastating families across the Sahel, and our emergency response work is crucial to averting famine here. But so are long-term solutions that help people withstand the cycles of drought and hunger that plague this region.
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Niger: Children suffer most in hunger crisis June 6, 2012
Lauretta dreams of becoming a teacher. But she hasn’t been to school since January, when she had to drop out in order to help her family at home.
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Guatemala: Planting better crops June 1, 2012
Seven-year-old Ancel Cual excitedly gets his hands dirty helping to plant yucca in his community of Corozal in the northern highlands of Guatemala.
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Mongolia: New techniques protect herders’ traditional way of life May 31, 2012
In southwest Mongolia, the mix of soaring snow-capped mountains and sweeping sand dunes makes for a stunning landscape — but a tough life for residents trying to raise livestock between two harsh environments.
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Yemen: New food program prevents kids from going hungry May 26, 2012
Milk? Vegetables? Women from Mawza District in central Yemen laugh. “We dream about the taste of milk, vegetables and fruits.” The reason? Mafi fuloos, they answer — no money.
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Niger: Surviving the Sahel hunger crisis May 18, 2012
More than 6 million people in Niger do not have enough to eat this year. The first signs of a dire food crisis began converging months ago: drought, failed crops and inflated food prices.
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Niger: Maintaining wells as drought takes its toll May 10, 2012
In Niger, cycles of drought and hunger are a harsh reality. Here, a family works on a well that Mercy Corps helped them rebuild.