Nepal ranks among the world’s poorest countries with more than 30% of the population living below the poverty line. Approximately 80 percent of all Nepalis depend on subsistence agriculture and forest products for their livelihoods.

USAID/Nepal works to increase farmers’ incomes, enhance agricultural productivity, and improve management of natural resources. Since 2004, USAID activities have provided water access and market development assistance in over 18 districts, helping more than 62,000 households adopt micro-irrigation technology and access markets.

USAID/Nepal is also supporting a multi-faceted youth education program, combining literacy and life skills, vocational education, agricultural training, and targeted scholarships for disadvantaged and conflict-affected youth in mid-western Nepal. USAID's work contributes to reducing one of the root causes of the conflict by creating employment opportunities for the rural poor, including: the landless, tenants, small farmers, disadvantaged castes, ethnic minorities and internally displaced people.

PROGRAMS

• 30,000 youth will attain literacy, life skills (including HIV/AIDs, health and nutrition training) and peace-building skills to prepare them for future employment.
• 11,000 youth to graduate from vocational training classes; at least 80% of trained graduates to secure and maintain quality employment or improved incomes based on skills attained.
• 50,000 youth to double their annual income through improved agricultural productivity or expansion of micro-enterprises.
• 5,000 youth in the Karnali Zone to increase their annual food sufficiency by three months.
• To increase access to jobs for youth, the program launched a website “www.jobsfirst.org.np” to provide a networking platform for training providers, employers, and youth.

AGRICULTURE

• Enabled over 64,000 households to adopt micro-irrigation systems (treadle pumps, drip systems, sprinkler systems, and low-cost water storage) and provided technical assistance to more than 3,600 farmer groups (55% women members).
• Established agricultural value chains in 18 districts serving millions of people.
• Directly increased cumulative sales of high-value crops by $28 million and increased annual household incomes by over 50 percent per year.
• Established 94 marketing and planning committees (MPCs) that have opened 74 collection centers serving over 64,000 households

FLOOD RECOVERY

• USAID’s Flood Recovery Program works with flood-affected communities throughout the Terai to increase farmer productivity and income; rehabilitate and develop small-scale community infrastructure; improve awareness of sanitation, nutrition, gender and protection issues; and strengthen local organizational capacities.
• This program has reached approximately 30,000 beneficiaries and by the end of the project period it will have benefited 66,000 flood-affected people.

ENERGY

• Built two micro-hydropower plants providing electricity to nearly 5,400 households and 20 community enterprises.
• Building the Nepal Electricity Authority’s capacity to favorably improve cross-border power trade with India.
• Supporting an Alternative Energy Promotion Center to establish a regional center of excellence in micro-hydropower in Nepal.

NATURAL RESOURCES GOVERNANCE

• Supported the Institute of Forestry with curriculum development, training and applied research.
• Improved management of over 60,000 hectares of forest area by helping communities improve forest management practices.
• Helped to handover 170,000 hectares of previously Government-owned forest area to local forest user groups.
• Helped over 1,000 natural resource management groups to improve their internal governance by applying transparent, accountable, and participatory practices.