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.

The program implemented as part of the Feed the Future initiative in Nepal, which was supposed to continue into 2028 with a budget of $24.5 million, provided farmers with access to quality seeds and locally-sourced inputs at reduced cost. The program helped to broker formal agreements between farmers and buyers, cutting out middlemen and stabilizing prices.

Wellness Hub Nepal, a poultry feed producer, was one of the companies to have signed a contract to purchase maize in bulk from women farmers in Dhakeri village through the Mahila Jagran Multipurpose Cooperative since 2023. A company representative explained the company can no longer maintain advance purchase agreements with farmers because of the daily fluctuation in production levels. The manager of the cooperative they had signed an agreement with notes that thus leaves farmers in a more precarious position — while the company guarantees it will continue to purchase farmers' produce, there is no longer any stability.

Source: Devex