Andrea: I look forwards to be part of the Farmers Clubs projects.

Farmers in developing countries face several infrastructure, financial, technical and environmental problems. As struggling governments are not able to provide its people with enough resources through education, training, subsidies, farming programs and other incentives; farmers are left mostly on their own, when dealing with adverse conditions such as drought, pests, bad road and transport conditions, soil erosion and other damaging realities and situations. Furthermore, farming is severely affected in poor countries and communities, when most farmers do not have access to education or to financial aid or loans to independently improve their livelihoods. With time, these factors continue to worsen or remain stagnant as farmers and communities have their – intellectual and physical - hands tied. Since they usually lack of the guidance, knowledge and resources to unite themselves to deal with adversity as a group and to create alternate solutions to their problems as an entity.

Fortunately, organizations and groups such as International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), several strategic cofinancers, the World Food Programme (WFP) and Humana People to People Farmers Clubs; work together and for the farmers in rural and developing areas to help them strive. Their approaches are varied. Many programs include much investigation on the causes of environmental and farming issues and find ways to deal with these issues in order to overcome them and prevent them. These studies and knowledge are also shared with the direct affected parties: the farmers. And thus, sustainable development begins.

Technical education is a vital component in the improvement in the lives of the farmers. Through education farmers are able to adopt long and short term practices that not only benefit their crops but their families and ultimately their whole community.  As a result, these training courses and campaigns improve productivity and naturally bring many farmers to learn and work collectively. Furthermore, organizations and projects that acknowledge the importance of community action and development promise to bring more lasting and sustainable success. They achieve this by training and encouraging local farmers to get organized and work together. For this reason, group organization is vital in development: it allows farmers to find support, share responsibilities, plan solutions, produce more and, overall, work better.

“Together people are stronger at all levels”. A strength well guided, organized and focused brings more leverage and success to each and every farmer when dealing with banks, buyers, policies, providers, transportation and all agricultural, economical and technical aspects. Farmers Clubs focus a lot in mobilizing and motivating farmers to unite themselves and carry on with more productive and functional farming practices. Through positive guidance and role modeling, they train and connect farmers into important working and training groups. Together as a whole, Farmers Clubs address and resolve environmental and agricultural concerns. They also take their actions and objectives one step further; they aim to improve the whole community’s well being with: health, nutrition, hygiene training, alternate crop production and income generating projects. This approach gives the farmers the means to rely on several income and food security solutions instead of the vulnerable farming they used to rely one before acting together as a community with more knowledge and power.

Farmers Clubs address development in a different way. Instead of only focusing in children, sick people or people at risk; this project aids the whole community in an action that is vital, millenarian and already used by the community: agriculture. Strengthening the community in such basic and deep level – as it is food security and income generating activities – aids the population in very effective and meaningful ways. I look forwards to be part of the Farmers Clubs projects.

Andrea Perez going to Farmers Club Project in Nhamatanda Mozambique