OTTAWA – Soaring wheat prices and the chance for solid market profits have not made Canadian farmers less likely to give their grain away to help the world’s hungry, says the head of the Canadian Foodgrains bank.
Al Doerksen of Winnipeg said farmers have retained their generosity, despite the lure of a quicker dollar from the market.
“I’m sure farmers have found it tougher to make grain donations,” he said during a June 7 meeting in Ottawa to plan Canada’s position for the November World Food Summit in Rome.
“The temptation is to sell it now to get the higher prices, to pay down the debt, to build up savings. At the same time, the commitment to respond to the less fortunate remains.”
The Foodgrains Bank takes donations of grain from prairie and Ontario farmers, has the value of the donation matched by the federal government, buys more grain and then sends it to world hunger spots.
He said donations have remained around 15,000 tonnes per year despite higher prices.
