At the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Nepal (MoAC), a joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) was conducted from 20 March to 8 April 2007.
Following the WFP supported National Crop and Food Security Assessment conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC) in November 2006, a joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment (CSFAM) is currently ongoing (from 19 March – 6 April) to assess the condition of the winter crop and develop recommendations on an appropriate national response to localized crop failures and drought.
For the third consecutive year, drought conditions have severely affected agricultural crop production in Nepal. Following signs of early paddy crop failure and reports about farmer’s inability to start planting, especially in the Eastern Terai, the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC) initiated a preliminary assessment of the paddy crop losses in August 2006, which estimated a decline in national paddy production of 850,000 Mt.