Nova Scotia farmers to help drought-stricken countries

A group led by local church members is taking donated farmland and using it to grow corn. Each acre then needs to be tilled, sewn, fertilized and eventually harvested by local farmers.

The corn gets sold as cattle feed, and the profits go to supporting food aid programs across the globe.

The Lafarge cement plant is loaning the land near Highway 118 for use by Harvest for Hunger, which grows food that is sold to the non-profit Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

To keep its costs down, Harvest for Hunger looks for donations from people to pay for the farming costs, which works out to $300 an acre and people will receive a charity tax receipt for this.

The money raised by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank then gets sent around the world to fight hunger.

This year's proceeds will be directed toward the drought in South Sudan^[1] and Ethiopia^[2], helping to buy food, farm equipment and livestock for people in need.

Last fall, the group helped Syrian refugees^[3] fleeing the war.

Lafarge's Brookfield cement plant is loaning the use of the land to grow the crops. (CBC)

Many people involved

It costs about $300 to develop an acre of land which, when harvested, will be worth about $800.

That $500 profit, donated to the foodgrains bank, is matched three to one by the federal government, making an acre here worth around $2,400.

Ian MacHattie, who represents the Canadian Foodgrains Bank in Nova Scotia, says his job is to find money and volunteers to make this year's project a success.

"We sent a letter of intent to Lafarge and once they understood the project, they were happy to let us use the land," he said.

"By the time we're done, there will be 15 to 20 different groups all working to make this happen."

Ian MacHattie represents the Canadian Foodgrains Bank in Nova Scotia. (CBC)

Good soil, good crop

Luke Mostert, 24, took the day off from regular farming and borrowed his father's tractor to till the former sod farm.

"I think it's great. It's good soil here, so it will be a good crop — and they should be able to get some good income out of it," said Mostert, before climbing into the tractor and digging another line.

$100K goal

MacHattie hopes the effort raises $100,000.

Weather permitting, the charity hopes to plant and fertilize this crop in the next couple of weeks.

References

1. ^{^} South Sudan (www.cbc.ca)
2. ^{^} Ethiopia (www.cbc.ca)
3. ^{^} group helped Syrian refugees (www.cbc.ca)