APRIL FIELD NOTES NEWSLETTER

C.I.D.A. FUNDING

Jim Cornelius, CFGB Exec. Director  

Canadian Foodgrains Bank is entering the final year of four‐year funding agreement with CIDA that has provided us with $25 million a year in matching support. We are engaged in discussions with CIDA about renewing this funding support for another five years. CIDA has commissioned an independent external evaluation of our program which should be completed by the middle of April. The CIDA manager responsible for our program will be visiting our office in the later part of April to discuss the evaluation results and to prepare for the next steps in renewing the funding agreement. We do not know whether CIDA will be proposing any changes to the funding arrangement.

Our relationships with CIDA and the Minister of International Cooperation continue to be positive. At this stage, we do not anticipate any major problems

negotiating and signing a new funding agreement. Nevertheless, it is always important for supporters to be in touch with your local Member of Parliament to indicate how much you appreciate the matching support provided by CIDA. This type of communication makes a difference.

A SINCERE THANK YOU!

Despite being the in the middle of a global economic slowdown supporters of the Foodgrains Bank have been typically generous. In the fiscal year, ending March 31, 2010, donations of $10.5 million were received, the second highest in the CFGB history. While this is approximately $2 M short of the previous year this decrease is to a large extent the result of lower grain prices (which results in lower donation values) and a decrease of almost $1 M in members transferring funds to their Foodgrains Bank accounts. We are humbled by your generosity.

Last year your support enabled CFGB to:

• Spend $36 million on food aid, food security and nutrition programming.

• Work in 32 countries

• Provide food to 2 million beneficiaries

• Supply 35,000 tonnes of food and seed.

BEYOND HAITI

Joan Barkman, Director International Program

Every once in a while the world sits up and takes note of a major disaster. This is what happened in January when Haiti suffered such devastation and loss of life due to an earthquake. People opened their hearts and their wallets with great compassion and caring. Witnessing this spontaneous response is always humbling and gratifying to see. At the same time, for those who work to alleviate human suffering on a fulltime basis, we are reminded of all the other disasters that do not get the same attention. Although at Canadian Foodgrains Bank we have also responded to the Haiti crisis, much of our work is responding to the follow‐up events of a disaster long after the news reporters have left.

In the last year, the largest areas of response for Foodgrains Bank were in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. Although these disasters also received media attention at one time, we know that recovering from the losses sustained due to drought or political upheaval are not redressed in a month or even a season. The first response may be to provide daily food

rations. But, that is only the start. In Sudan our projects address issues of chronic malnutrition and helping returning people displaced for many years due to conflict reestablish their farms. In Zimbabwe we continue to feed the most vulnerable during the hunger period between the time their food stocks run out and the next harvest. However, we also work to introduce sustainable agricultural practices to increase harvests. In Kenya, drought has continued for 3 years in a row.

Each year people fall further and further into poverty. Providing food aid as well as seeds for planting helpslow the downturn. In the same way, when the cameras are turned off in Haiti, our members and partners will continue to be there to walk with those struggling to rebuild their lives.

SHIPPING NEWS

Vanessa Brown, Logistics Officer

Overview for April 2009 – March 2010

• $23.7 million was committed for food assistance; $10.1 million was committed for food security; and $2.2 million was committedfor nutrition programming;

• 33,869 metric tonnes of food and 1,072 metric tonnes of seed purchased locally in 19 countries on behalf of 14 members;

• A total of 96 programs were initiated, assisting over 2 million beneficiaries;

• 27,183 metric tonnes of cereals, 3,497 metric tonnes of pulses, 958 metric tonnes of oil, 1,572 metric tonnes of fortified foods, 659 metric tonnes of other food commodities, and 1,073

metric tonnes of seeds were purchased locally.

March Highlights

• India ‐ $1,667,000 – MCCC is supporting the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) to

enhance the food and livelihood security of poor and marginalized families (approximately

500,000 people) in selected villages. The program will utilize 1,660 tonnes of rice and 1,340 tonnes of wheat during the first year of the project.

• Bangladesh ‐ $168,000 – WRC is supporting Koinonia with a five‐year program in Kandi &

Suagram Unions in Gopalgonj District. The local inhabitants are poor and suffer acute food

insecurity. This project will improve the local agricultural environment by draining out stagnant water and rehabilitating canals through food‐for‐work programs. Regular maintenance of the canals and roads will be ensured through formation of local canal management committees. The project will utilize 217 tonnes of rice for the food‐for‐work component of the project. 3,040 people will benefit from the food‐for‐work and 19,703 people will benefit from the improved

agriculture.

• Ethiopia ‐ $159,000 – CLWR is supporting Support for Sustainable Development (SSD)

 who assist Afar pastoral communities in Amuli & Abakebara increase their capacity to manage drought risks and be food self‐sufficient. The objective of the program is to decrease shortterm food needs for 11,946 people through food‐for‐work in the construction of irrigation schemes and 320 tonnes of wheat.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

James Kornelsen, Public Engagement Coordinator

An art exhibit entitled “Just Food: the Right to Food from a Faith Perspective” will feature artwork from Canada and around the world inspired by biblical texts and statements from the Declaration of Human Rights. This exhibit, which is sponsored by Canadian Foodgrains

Bank along with other organizations, will open at the Steinbach Mennonite Heritage Museum in the Temporary Gallery, Sunday May 2nd at 7pm. It will also open in Winnipeg later in the fall and will then be available to other galleries across Canada.

The Canadian School of Peacebuilding course “Our Contested Food System: Cultivating a Just Peace” June 14th‐18th still has room for more registrant (http://www.cmu.ca/csop/courses.html). Four instructors will use deliberative dialogues to navigate divisive issues and will include a “farmer day”, where farmers will be invited free of charge to visit research plots near Carman, MB together with the students for some practical ways to engage the issue of Creation

Care in agriculture. Contact James Kornelsen (j_kornelsen@foodgrainsbank.ca) to learn more.

Subsidies for farmers connected to Foodgrains Bank will be available for course participation, but the “farmer day” on Tuesday, June 15th is FREE for farmers. The 2010 Fast for Change campaign will focus on food security and how Canadians can act in solidarity with hungry people around the world. Posters will be coming out at the beginning of June. A Food Study Tour to Ethiopia is planned for January 2011, studying developments in international food assistance in a place where Foodgrains has a long history. A Youth Discovery Tour is planned for February 2011 to Guatemala and will study the impact of Canadian mining operations on

food security.

 

INDIA/BANGLADESH 2010 FST REPORT

Gerard and Alicia Grubb

We were among 11 participants to travel to India and Bangladesh on this year’s CFGB Food Study Tour. Our first stop in India was to visit the Canadian High Commission to discuss the food security problem. Between 20 and 40 percent of the population of India is below the poverty line. Half the world’s hungry people live in India. The Indian government has set up schemes to address the right to food problem. Individuals who are below the poverty line have access to a midday meal for children under six and pregnant or nursing mothers;

• Are eligible to receive 35kg of grain/month per household;

• Are guaranteed employment of 100 days per year per household.

After a few sightseeing activities we got down to business and travelled to the East Champaran District in the State of Bihar. It was there we met Arun who gave us an in‐depth account of the caste system and the issues surrounding right to food. The Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR), a partner of World Relief Canada, is working with the “Musahars” and “delits” (untouchable/lowest caste) to ensure they gain access to their rights. EFICOR is working with 50 villages. In each village they help the people select a committee of 11 to represent the village. EFICOR empowers the village committee to go to the government officials to ensure that those below the poverty line have access to India’s schemes. There were some very emotional moments when the people working for EFICOR described some of their encounters with the corrupt government officials. As one of the EFICOR gentleman said, “The government official thought we must be one of the greatest of all fools to work for these fools (meaning the poorest of all poor people”).

After India, we moved on to Bangladesh to its capital Dhaka. Bangladesh is a country surrounded by India, about the size of New Brunswick, and has a population roughly half the population of the United States. While in Dhaka we met with Milon of BNM (Bangladesh Nazarene Mission), a partner of NCM (Nazarene Compassionate Ministries). We travelled to Birganj (in the north) to see BNM’s Nutrition Rehabilitation Projects. This project focuses on increasing both nutrition and education. In the villages we visited (Bolya

and Mashkhuria) BNM had set up small pre‐schools for the children, where the children received a meal for attending school. These schools were set up to bring the children up to a level where they could attend the regular school. The program also provided nutrition education for mothers. Our final group of project visits brought us to the Nilphamari District (also in the

Northern Bangladesh) to see a Monga Mitigation Project (Food Security) project through the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada and their partner MCC Bangladesh. In this region 65% of people are “landless” and will be out of work during the Monga season. MCC distributed livestock (goats, cows, and sheep) as well as vegetable seed and other plants. MCC also provided livestock training for the project participants. Participants gain income through the milk and manure created by the livestock. During this visit we had the opportunity of staying with a project participant. What a humbling experience it was to share quarters with a family of a different culture.

 The one thing that touched us was listening to participants within these countries and the respect that they had for the CFGB; both in their programming ability and in their need to see the project transparent.

A journey to remember!

Gerard is a farmer from the Mildmay area.

His daughter Alicia is a PHD candidate at U of T.