Seeds for Nepal’s recovery

“My potato crop needed planting. Cash from the Red Cross came at exactly the right time.I used the grant money to buy potato seed and hire a tractor and driver to prepare the soil. Without the money I would have struggled to plant in time, ” says Sitaram Lamichhane, 50, a Bhaktapur farmer who lost his house and half his rice store in the earthquake.

Nepal Red Cross Society, supported by the British Red Cross and UK disasters Emergency Committee are rolling out a flexible community driven program to support and boost food security and income of more than 5000 farmers in the valley. Conditional grants of 5,000 Nepali rupees (around 45 Swiss francs) have served to kick-start livelihoods as crops are harvested. Bhunti Ramtyal, 48, who lost the second floor of her Lalitpur house in the quake, says seeds and fertilizer have increased in price by about 80 per cent in the past year.

“The cash grant was very helpful. I’ve spent some of it on garlic and other seeds and saved the rest to invest soon in tomato and coriander. But it’s tough – our goat died, pests are attacking my crops and I need to learn new ways to keep my plants well. I’m eager to go to a large scale vegetable operation and increase my crops and income.”

In Lalitpur, Amrit Silwal, 36, used his grant to employ neighbors to work alongside him. He bought fertilizer, and added cucumber, coriander, radish and cauliflower to his regular plantings of rice, wheat and potato. “Without the grant I would have just sown wheat, which requires little care but is less valuable than the vegetables I now have. I’m now going to get a better income.”