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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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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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.
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Guatemala: Mercy Corps Guatemala program featured in USAID Frontlines magazine June 23, 2011
USAID's Frontlines magazine recently showcased Mercy Corps Guatemala’s Innovative Market Alliance for Rural Entrepreneurs (IMARE) programme through the personal story of Delma Gomez, one of
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Guatemala: Farmers find new markets June 22, 2011
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Indonesia: Water flows and greens grow June 20, 2011
Thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mercy Corps´ hygiene promotion, livelihood, water and sanitation programmes are improving living conditions for those living in displacement camps on Indonesia's Mentawa
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Nepal: Where the river brings life, it can also bring death June 18, 2011
Krishna Bahadur Giri is standing thigh-deep in the swollen Mohana River, studying the best place to cross. The road we were going to use is washed out; Plan B is to turn our Jeep into an amphibious vehicle.
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Nepal: Janaki Bhatta in Samaijee village, Nepal June 16, 2011
With support from a Mercy Corps programme funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Food Crisis Response, Janaki is working hard to make her farm more productive.
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Nepal: To combat hunger, Janaki learns new ways to grow, store and sell June 16, 2011
I’m pretty sure Bill Gates hasn’t met Janaki Bhatta. But I’m just as sure he’d see in her a kindred spirit — a feisty entrepreneur who’s taking some smart steps to increase her yields of aloo (potato) and audha (ginger) — and the income she earns from them.