Farmers lost a large portion of their livestock in the six districts of Nepal hit the hardest by earthquakes earlier this year, and half of the farming households lost nearly all of their stored crops of rice, corn, wheat and millet, says the Food and Agriculture Organization. The temblors also destroyed farming equipment and damaged irrigation canals needed to water fields, said FAO in renewing an appeal for governments to fund disaster recovery. Aid to agriculture is critical because two-thirds of Nepalis depend on farming for a living.
The most urgent needs for the growing season are seeds, fertilizer, irrigation and tools. FAO said it distributed 40,000 bags of rice seed in the six worst-hit districts – Dhading, Dolakha, Gorkha, Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchowk – so fields could be planted before arrival of the monsoon, which is expected to begin soon.