Farmer’s Clubs in Guinea Bissau:

In 2011 Planet Aid UK supported the Farmer's Clubs in Guinea Bissau with a donation of £14,440.
The figures on hunger paint a clear picture of the threat that hunger continues to place on the world and also illustrates why eradicating hunger and poverty is appropriately placed as the number one Millennium Development Goal.
At the beginning of 2011 forty scientists published a report called 'The Future of Food and Farming' Challenge and Choice for Global Sustainability. 400 experts from 35 different countries contributed to this report where it simply says that. 'We have to act- Without change the global food system will continue to degrade the environment and compromise the world’s capacity to produce food in the future. One of the findings of this report is that one billion people go hungry, one billion people suffer from hidden hunger through lack of vitamins and minerals and one billion people eat too much, spawning a new public health epidemic involving chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart problems.
In an interview on a BBC morning news programme presenting this report, the chief scientific advisor for the government Professor Sir John Beddington said: ‘To feed the world’s population the small scale farmers must play a major role. 500 million farmers in the developing world feed a third of the world’s population.Training them to grow more food is a must'.
For over 10 years Humana People to People has organised small scale farmers in ‘Farmers Clubs’  The programme is proven to be very successful and today 100,000 farmers are organised and trained in farmers clubs in all the countries where Humana People to People implement their development aid work.
The Farmers Club concept is a programme that trains small-scale farmers in sustainable agricultural practices such as conservation farming. It equips the farmers with knowledge they can use to adjust to the changing condition of global warming. As an integrated part of the training the farmers get organised in exploring and sharing water recourses, securing inputs and the marketing of their produce. General knowledge and skills within nutrition, health and community development are also included.
Last year Planet Aid UK supported the Farmers Clubs in Oio in Guinea Bissau where 600 farmers are organised in 12 clubs.
The Republic of Guinea Bissau is a small country in West Africa with a population of 1.6 million people. It has fertile land rich in human potential that can be organised and trained to play an important role lifting the country out of poverty. ADPP Guinea- Bissau has worked in the country for 40 years.

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Microfinance in India:
Microfinance is a powerful tool that enables the poor to pull themselves out of poverty. Microfinance typically covers microcredit, insurance, money transfers and other financial services targeted at poor and low-income clients. Most commonly, it involves providing small loans to those who do not have access to other formal financial institutions. Usually the micro entrepreneurs use the loans to establish or expand small businesses to generate income for the family. They could be street vendors, artisans, seamstresses, small shop and cottage industry owners.

This extra income gives them the purchasing power to buy food, access healthcare, child education and put aside savings for the future and enjoy a better standard of living. Microfinance in its modern sustainable model is a source of hope to underprivileged families across the country. This programme is administered by Humana People to People India.

For more information please visit www.humana-India.org