Reviving agriculture in rural areas of earthquake-hit Nepal

In response to the devastating earthquakes that hit Nepal in April and May 2015, ACTED has distributed vegetable seeds and agricultural tool kits in rural areas of Dhading district. These distributions provide vulnerable households with immediate and long term support in accessing food.

The earthquakes that occurred in central areas of Nepal in April and May 2015 caused the death of more than 8,000 people and destroyed half a million homes. Dhading district is among the most severely affected. In the very aftermath of the disaster, ACTED teams rapidly identified detailed needs in a number of villages in Dhading, including Katunje.

In Katunje, 24 people were killed as a result of the first earthquake of April 25th, 12 were severely injured and 33 suffered from minor injuries. Almost all households lost their homes, forcing their relocation into makeshift shelters. Traditionally, Nepali households store their food items and harvest in their homes. When houses collapsed, most families lost their supplies and experienced food shortages, worsened by their location far from markets, made inaccessible by landslides and rubble. Many households lost their agricultural tools and storage capacities, which put them at risk of acute food insecurity in the long run. ACTED's immediate response to the crisis was to provide people with access to food, however, our teams identified a strong need for agricultural support for communities to be able to autonomously feed their families in the upcoming months.

ACTED teams met with community members, ward leaders, farmer groups and female community health volunteers in Katunje to be able to provide a response adapted to the community's specific needs. Given the planting calendar, it was collectively decided that cowpea and mustard seeds as well as agricultural tool kits were vital to revive agricultural activities and that ACTED teams would organize their distribution.

On July 17th and 18th, ACTED provided 1,516 households in Katunje with two packets of vegetable seeds and distributed one tool kit for every two households, with the support of International Medical Corps. With this support households will be empowered to restart sustainable and autonomous agricultural activities, and ensure their food security for the upcoming months.