Improving Food Security for Vulnerable Communities in Nepal

Overview

For families living in Nepal’s remote highland regions, chronic food insecurity and hunger are part of daily life. Their own agricultural production is low; imported food is expensive; and as men migrate to find work elsewhere, women are left to manage farms and households alone. Climate change is making the situation worse.

This case study explores the reasons why Nepal is so vulnerable to food insecurity, and describes what Oxfam and its partners are doing to help improve food security for women and men living in remote parts of highland Nepal. It explores some of the innovative programme activities that have been developed with these communities.

By linking emergency food distribution with support for local traders, and by using cash-for-work schemes to create micro-irrigation systems and seed banks, Oxfam’s programme is contributing to immediate needs for food and improved incomes, while also prioritizing interventions that will support long-term food security in the region.

Recognizing the pressures that male migration places on women in these communities, the programme also supports women’s capacity to lead and influence community development.