Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report's original feature story, "'I had no choice but to go abroad': US aid cuts hit Nepal’s farmers." Reporter Yam Kumari Kandel looked into the effects of the termination of USAID's agricultural initiative Feed the Future on the lives of rural farming communities.

Feed the Future was the U.S. government's flagship global food security initiative, working to raise farm incomes and strengthen supply chains globally. Related programs first began in Nepal in 2013. The program mentioned started in 2023 and was supposed to contiue through 2028 with $24.5 million expected over the life of the project. The program provided farmers with mentorship related to agricultural techniques and machinery, as well as subsidies for the production of certain goods such as maize. For maize farmers, like Khadka, who relied on U.S. technical support for stable yields and subsidies, the cuts have upended income stability and livelihoods.

KISAN II, an earlier Feed the Future program in Nepal, had reached nearly 60,000 farming households — about 70% of them women — with some crop yields nearly tripling and farmer sales more than tripling. While the prevalence of poverty and stunting had significantly decreased in the areas where it had been working, food insecurity still affects 17% of Nepalis, demonstating persistent challenges.

Source: Devex