World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

National Planning Commission Thursday made public a report on Nepal’s food security situation. (..) World Food Program’s Nepal representative Richarg Regan said Nepali people have been facing economic and social problems due to the lack of food security

Food indeed plays a major role in the life of people. Food describes you and reflects your culture and the nation you come from. (..) And that is what the photo exhibition ‘The life of food in Nepal’ portrays — it has a story to share about food, of people and of their tradition and culture. (..) he exhibition organised by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and inaugurated on July 20 at the Nepal Art Council comprises a total of 46 photographs. “I had always dreamed of coming to Nepal and after coming here I wanted to tell the story of Nepal in a different way,” said Richard Ragan, country representative of WFP.

Rising temperatures, drought, floods and landslides have combined to kill crops and leave millions hungry in Nepal. (..) The number of highly food insecure people in Nepal - a country of about 29 million people still recovering from 10 years of armed conflict that ended in 2006 - has tripled in the last three years to more than 3.7 million, according to the UN World Food Programme.

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. Sure enough with the prospect of at least six more years of power cuts, businesses, homes and offices in Nepal are all migrating to solar power in a big way.(..)Across Patan, the World Food Programme (WFP) office recently completed the first phase conversion of its entire office to solar power, even when there is electricity from the mains. "Our annual electricity bill is $20,000, and we spend $12,000 on diesel," explains WFP's Tyler McMahon. "We hope to cut the utility bills by half once the whole system is in place and will completely eliminate the diesel bill for the generator."

Food security for more than 600,000 people in the western hills of Nepal is set to deteriorate, aid agencies warn. With already low agricultural production in the more food-insecure areas, inflation is exacerbating matters further. “A lot of villagers are opting for more desperate coping mechanisms,” Richard Ragan, country representative for the World Food Programme (WFP), told IRIN in Kathmandu.

The indefinite strike called by the UCPN-Maoist had shut down much of Nepal during the agitation programme. (..) As per a report by the World Food Programme the indefinite strike came at a time when traders in Nepal’s Mid and Far Western districts were highly reliant on the transportation sector.

The hike in fuel costs is making food transportation more expensive - this is likely to continue to raise food prices in coming months, pointed out areport jointly prepared by World Food Programme (WFP) Nepal, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives-Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness Promotion and Marketing Development Directorate and federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce (FNCCI)-AEC, and Consumer Interest Protect Forum (CIPF).

Food production in Dailekh district has decreased this year due to drought and hailstone. District Agriculture Development Office has informed the reduction in winter crop production would cause a shortage of around 7000 metric tons of food.(..)According to the World Food Programme (WFP) Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the district were under serious threat of food crisis.

"Food crisis is the result of various other crises in Nepal", said Country Director of United Nation World Food Programme (WFP) Richard F. Ragan in an exclusive interview on Monday. "Here, we have a collision of crisis in Nepal such as natural disaster including drought and deluge, increase in the population, dependence on rainfall for agriculture," Ragan said.

Nepal is boosting efforts to tackle child malnutrition, which is so widespread that every other child under five has been found to be malnourished. Alarmed by the situation, officials say plans are afoot which will see combined action across a range of ministries in addition to activities by the Health Ministry, traditionally responsible for the issue.