Farm News, IA
11-09-07
Area farmers donate to Foods Resource Bank
By SANDY MICKELSON, Farm News staff writer
A visit in Ethiopia to a farmer’s field was part of a recent trip to Africa for Badger
farmer Wayne McMannus, right. A Dr. Legasse, left, an agronomist in the region,
talks with the farmer, project manager and McMannus.
Feeding the hungry helps, but teaching the hungry to feed themselves gives
them faith in the future.
With this in mind, 20 Webster County farmers have donated 72 acres to the
Foods Resource Bank program — creating their own Fields of Opportunities and
Dreams. Crops from those acres are sold, with 100 percent of the money raised
donated to the program.
Wayne McMannus, of Badger, is one of those spearheading the local Foods
Resources Bank.
‘‘It’s a nonprofit food production program centered around farmers,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s
a unique alliance with farmers, nonfarmers and large agricultural companies like
NEW Coop and Land o’ Lakes.’’
This is the third year crops have been donated to the program.
‘‘It’s open to anyone,’’ McMannus said. ‘‘Most Foods Resource Bank growing
projects are more community than church. It’s a faith-based thing, but it’s open to
anybody.’’
There are 15 different denominations worldwide that work with the program, he
said, but ‘‘It’s centered around farmers, who contribute an acre or two, maybe
several. Nonfarmers make cash contributions throughout the year.’’
The money is funneled into an international program started in 2000 by three
Canadian farmers faced with overproduction and cheap prices on wheat.
‘‘They tried to figure out how to do some good with this overproduction, so they
monetized it — sold the wheat, turned it into cash and helped others learn how to
grow their own food,’’ McMannus said. ‘‘We’re not giving people food or money.
We’re giving them the ability to raise their own food.
‘‘We do this by selling our crops and raising cash and getting contributions, and
then, if we’re lucky, Foods Resource Bank, the national organization, gets a
matching grant from US AID, the United States Agency for International
Development.’’
Donations and grants keep the fund growing.
‘‘We’re starting with a small amount of money in the Midwest, and because we
get these matching funds, we generally turn a dollar into four or five dollars by
the time it hits Africa,’’ McMannus said.
A list of programs being operated is studied by those in the local group, who
choose what they want to fund.
‘‘Last year they had 50 different programs in 30 different countries,’’ McMannus
said. ‘‘Basically, they’re poor, undeveloped countries of the world that are
politically stable. We have four or five meetings a year. We encourage people to
come to meetings. They’re certainly welcome to voice their opinions about which
country and which program they’d like to do.’’
The program gives farmers in poor countries ‘‘things that will enhance them in
their farming operations for many, many years,’’ McMannus said.
For example, ‘‘in western Kenya, Foods Resource Bank did a seed reproduction
program for corn. They call it maize. So we’re helping them raise their own seed
for future production. That sounds kind of backward by our standards.’’
Seed corn is available in Kenya, but not affordable.
‘‘There is no money in Kenya or Ethiopia,’’ McMannus said. ‘‘It’s total poverty.
Eighty percent of the people in Ethiopia earn less than a dollar a day. In Kenya,
57 percent of the people earn less than a dollar a day. So, you see, the farmers,
if you get them good, reliable seed that they raise themselves, then the battle is
half done.’’
Because McMannus wanted to see for himself how this program works, he and
his wife, Sara, traveled to Kenya and Ethiopia in mid-August. Another couple
from Michigan and the Foods Resource Bank manager from Michigan went, too.
‘‘The Anglican Church in western Kenya has agronomists helping farmers raise
crops,’’ he said. ‘‘There are different crops in different regions. That’s the part
that really impressed me. Every farm we went to had training sessions set up.
Once a week they’d meet and talk about what’s going on. It’s much like Iowa
State University — it was every bit as impressive, on a much smaller scale,
because everything was done by hand. But the education was very good.’’
Everything can be done by hand, he said, because there are huge amounts of
people and the farms are very small. ‘‘Three or four acres would be a big farm.
Everybody is working in the fields.’’
In Ethiopia, a navy bean program has been funded by the Webster County
program.
‘‘It’s an alternative crop there,’’ McMannus said. ‘‘It wasn’t previously raised
there. Navy beans are very high in protein, so it’s a good source of protein for the
people in that area. They’re trying to raise their own seed. It’s hoped that some
day production will increase to the point where it might be a commercial crop,
that people will sell what they don’t use.’’
Both countries have research universities, as far as food production, McMannus
said. ‘‘Seed originates from there. It’s very impressive for their standards.’’