Kathmandu, May 26 -- Maharaja Yadav of ward 5 of Narainapur Rural Municipality in Banke survives on the harvest from her five kattha (0.17 hectares) of farmland, which feeds her family for a year and also helps cover daily expenses.

Her household of six-her husband, three daughters and a son-depends entirely on farming. The income from the field supports household expenses, children's education and other daily needs.

Two years ago, a prolonged drought in Narainapur dealt a severe blow to her family. Without irrigation facilities, most of the paddy crop dried up. Since then, she has been struggling to repay loans taken to manage household expenses after the failed harvest.

"We somehow managed food for ourselves, but paying for the child...