Nepal is one of the poorest countries in world and also ranked as the third poorest country in South Asia. More than one -fourth of population in Nepal are multi-dimentionally poor. The causes of poverty in Nepal are complex and multidimensional. Nepal’s economy is highly dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about one-fourth of GDP and employs two-thirds of the population. It is a major source of livelihood for the population particularly in rural areas where there are large numbers of marginalized,landless and disadvantaged people with poor access to land, risk management, social and safety net, financial resources, market, modern practices and technologies, skills, information and government support and services, and poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in these localities have the highest instances . In the selected project districts, large majority of farmers practice low input-output subsistence oriented farming. They typically have limited use of improved livestock, seeds, crop varieties, modern practices, poor irrigation system and vulnerable to high risk of natural disasters like flood and drought. Mukta Kamaiya and Kamalari (Freed bonded labor), people with disabilities, Returnee Migrant, Badi,Raji living in Doti and Kanchanpur are among the most deprived and marginalized communities. 

The SAKSHAM Project aims to improve livelihoods and well-being of marginal and climate vulnerable families in Kanchanpur and Doti districts of Sudurpaschim Province, Nepal through organizing and capacitating beneficiaries, providing them skills, resources and collaborating with local governments and other key stakeholders to create an environment to access support and services. The project also expects to improve and diversify food and nutrition security and creating income opportunities of target communities and improve climate change adaptation and disaster risk management capacities of local governments, institutions and communities in these two districts. The Project works with resource poor, marginal and landless, Freed Kamaiya, People with Disabilities (PwD), returnee migrant, single women and smallholder farming households primarily living in below poverty line. More than 60% beneficiaries will be women among individual beneficiaries.