Mennonite Central Committee Canada is working with Group of Helping Hands Nepal (SAHAS) to improve food and nutrition security for 2,100 vulnerable households through agricultural training, input support and community mobilization in Jahada Rural Municipality, Morang District, Nepal.
A situation assessment report (2023) revealed that only 30% of the households in Jahada have stable income throughout the year, while the remaining 70% struggle to meet their food needs from their own production and earnings. Around 54% of households do not produce enough food for more than 6 months, and 20% of children under the age of 5 are identified as malnourished. Small land-holdings, lack of inputs and yearlong irrigation, and reliance on chemicals for agricultural production has left many local farmers vulnerable to the effects of land degradation and climate instability (e.g., drought and flooding). This contributes to poor nutrition for pregnant and lactating women and children, with high rates of malnutrition prevalent in the area.
This three-year project will work with 2,100 households (with an estimated 10,920 people) from vulnerable, socially excluded and marginalized families (e.g., Dalits, women, persons with disabilities, and single women) who experience low incomes, food insecurity, and disempowerment. The project will establish and strengthen community institutions; deliver agriculture and entrepreneurship skill training; provide agriculture inputs like seeds, composting materials, irrigation facilities; and raise nutrition awareness. The project also will improve local farmers’ markets and irrigation borewells, promote climate resilient methods of sustainable agriculture and kitchen gardens. The project will also address gender inequality in land tenure, household labour and income.