This week, Ms. Evelyn Nassuna, the Uganda Country Program Director of our partners Lutheran World Relief (LWR), testified before Congress about a pending U.S. development program.  In her comments (read testimony here), Ms. Nassuna stressed that work to support small-scale farmers is key in reducing poverty and hunger, and that the best programs are designed through consulting local communities and empowering women.  She noted, “Mrs. Bisaso and Mrs. Kate did not improve their families’ livelihoods overnight, and, to be honest, they still face challenges. But they have more stable access to food than ever before, and their diets (and those of their families) continue to improve.”

The testimony Ms. Nassuna of Uganda gave in the District of Columbia mirrored the comments made by Peruvian coffee farmer Arnaldo Neira earlier in California.  During an interview on KECG radio (read transcript here), Mr. Neira noted, “Well, we don’t only cultivate coffee, right? We also grow other products; we grow food for ourselves more than anything, and with our organized work we are trying to find the food security for the main family orchards and school orchards. This allows the diet for our children to be more balanced, and rich in vitamins. And well, we also have, apart from the growth of coffee, we also have fruit, and all mostly for self consumption – a lot of cultivation of bananas, yucca, and some beans.”

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A pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade since 1986, Equal Exchange is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee, chocolate, cocoa, and other products. Customers include grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, schools and places of worship nationwide. 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 40 small farmer co-operatives in 22 countries around the world.  For more information see www.equalexchange.coop

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