Hello Seeds of Life donors and friends.
Here is a short update on our growing project. Our final report was sent to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) on November 18. We ended up sending a total of $58,718 to CFGB. This was from the value of the wheat crop (less expenses) and your donations as members of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCMC), The Salvation Army (TSA), and The United Church of Canada (UCC). These funds were split between the accounts of the three partners according to your donation amounts. Most overseas projects approved by the Government of Canada will receive matching funds and with this match our project could put up to $235,000 in the hands of our partners to sponsor their work!
You will all know by now that we have serious price/cost inflation in Canada and this has had a huge impact on the price and availability of agricultural materials. We have held back $28,800 in the Seeds of Life account to be sure that we have the funds to pay winter and early spring expenses for next year’s crop. While our partners could have used these funds for their overseas work, we also need to ensure that we are able to operate a successful project next year.
We also know from recent news that many farmers in Canada have suffered heavy losses from the extreme weather events that we have been having. Small farmers in developing countries are impacted even more than we are by these events and they do not have the resources to recover as our farmers do. A large part of CFGB’s work is teaching these farmers new methods to grow crops and thus improve their food security under adverse climate conditions. I am honoured to partner with you as donors in this important work. We look forward to another successful year in 2022.