Nearly 1 million people face food insecurity risk in Nepal: UN agency

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has called for urgent help for farmers in earthquake-hit Nepal, where one million people face the risk of prolonged food insecurity, said a UN spokesperson here Friday.

FAO has appealed for 20 million U.S. dollars since it found that in Nepal's six hardest-hit districts, half of all farming households lost nearly all of their stored crops of rice, maize, wheat and millet, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing.

Two separate earthquakes and a series of aftershocks struck Nepal in April and May, killing more than 8,000 people and devastating large parts of the country.

The earthquakes also destroyed farming tools, kitchen gardens and supplies of fertilizer and caused significant damage to small- scale irrigation, according to an FAO-led Agricultural Livelihood Impact Appraisal.

It also found that some 16 percent of cattle and 36 percent of poultry were lost in the earthquakes, adversely affecting rural household consumption and income.

According to FAO, two-thirds of Nepalis depend on farming for their livelihoods, making agriculture a priority. The most urgent needs for the current cropping season are seeds and fertilizers, followed by irrigation, tools and technical support.

To date, FAO has received around 3 million dollars for emergency relief so far, only 13 percent of the 23 million dollars it has asked for.