Nepal: Impact of the November 2023 earthquakes - DIEM-Impact report, April 2024

The November 2023 earthquakes that affected the Karnali province in Nepal had a devastating effect on the livelihoods of the people living in the most affected districts: Jajarkot, Jamla, Rukum West and Salyan. These districts are mostly made up of hills and mountains, and the primary sector is the most important source of livelihood, engaging more than 70 percent of the workforce. This survey, conducted in Jajarkot and Rukum West districts, highlighted the loss of productive assets for crop and livestock farming as the most critical issue.

Twenty percent of farmers reported damages to agricultural land (62 percent of which was to more than half the land), and 21 percent reported damages to irrigation systems (69 percent of which was substantial or total). About a quarter of the respondent farmers reported seed and hand tool losses. Similar to crop production, what is worrying is the destruction and loss of livestock productive capital, as 35 percent of households reported the destruction of animal shelters and 18 percent the loss of stocked fodder.

Food security indicators show consumption gaps and a particularly poor diet demonstrating that consumption is achieved with severe coping strategies and asset depletion (either sold or destroyed by the earthquake) for a third of the population.