Dear All,

I am pleased to let you all know that I successfully completed the 10K run yesterday, and even more please to tell you that I have met my target of £500. £185 has been pledged on this site, with an additional £450 sponsership collected bringing the total to £635.

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page and helping to raise a great total.
Monica

FARM-Africa has over 20 years experience of working directly with rural communities in Africa to implement successful agricultural development programmes.

Shockingly, rural poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased in the period 1993-2002 with over 200 million people living on less than 50p a day (US$1). Surveys have shown that household income is the greatest determinant in whether children go to school. Agriculture is key to reducing this poverty since 80% of Africa's people depend on the food they grow and the livestock they keep for survival. The World Bank's World Development Report 2008 places agriculture at the centre of the development agenda in order to realise the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

FARM-Africa’s projects measurably improve crop and livestock management in poor rural communities, increase household assets and incomes, and improve the economic and food security of many thousands of rural families.

As a family's income increases, the money they make is used to pay for schooling, healthcare, improvements in the family home, and investment in income-generating activities.

Providing rural farmers in Uganda with new varieties of cassava has increased their gross margins from US$6 to US$354 per acre. This means that farmers who previously depended on food aid to feed their families have achieved food security and are now selling 70% of their produce - an amazing turnaround.

Where your support could be used;

·         £10 could buy cabbage, tomato, carrot and beetroot seeds, plus potato tubers, to enable an African farmer to establish a vegetable plot

·         £27 is enough to pay for a crossbred dairy goat

·         £48 could pay for a basic drug kit for a village vet to care for local livestock

·         £120 could buy a camel that is able to survive in the driest regions and provide nutritious milk

·         £250 could supply five Tanzanian primary schools each with 15 chickens and a cockerel so that they can learn about livestock management

Monica