Amazone Group donates 35,000 Euros towards the World Hunger Aid ('Welthungerhilfe') Project.

As a corporate partner, Amazonen-Werke is supporting the 'Welthungerhilfe' Project "Sustainable integrated agriculture in India". Initially, with a donation of 10,000 Euros handed over to the charity in the middle of 2014 and then this additional cheque, of 35,000 Euros, which was handed over in Hasbergen-Gaste on 18th December, 2015 by the Amazone general manager Christian Dreyer, his wife Bettina Dreyer, and the personnel manager René Hüggelmeyer to Vera Schernus, consultant corporate cooperation and Helene Mutschler, head of fundraising, who represented the German charity 'Welthungerhilfe'.

With this additional donation, it means that further measures towards the realisation of the project’s objectives in Indian's north-eastern federal states Jharkhand and West Bengal can be implemented. India is a country where approximately half of its population still works in agriculture. However, the yields are not sufficient to supply the increasing population with healthy, vital food. Especially in Jharkhand and West Bengal, the majority of the population survives on so-called subsistence farming achieving, at best, only self-sufficiency. So far the harvests have been threatened by exhausted soils and extreme weather due to climate change, resulting in yields which often were just enough for six to nine months of self-sufficiency. It is particularly the children that often suffer from undernourishment and malnutrition.

To sustainably improve this situation, 'Welthungerhilfe' has been working over the last three years to support, together with experienced local partners, 2,500 agricultural micro-scale farms by the introduction of "sustainable integrated agricultural farming systems". This is carried out mostly by further training for these farmers with the aid of a local non-governmental organisation. In focus are resource-saving farming methods, the utilisation of multi-crops and the installation of new irrigation systems.

Yields increased, surplus achieved

"Just by the implementation of these methods, farmers have increased their yields and thus can ensure the self-sufficiency for a whole year", Helene Mutschler from the German charity 'Welthungerhilfe' reported on the occasion of the handing over of the donation in Hasbergen-Gaste. Thanks to these new farming methods, farmers have even generated surpluses which then were sold on regional markets. To achieve better prices, here co-operatives have been inaugurated. As additional measures to improve the situation, village seed banks were opened and a common utilisation of agricultural machinery implemented.

Due to this positive development, the 'Welthungerhilfe' Project has been extended to bring in 4,500 family-owned farms up until 2017. "For Amazone, as a corporate partner, it is important that the aid actually reaches the people and that we can thus provide actual added value", Christian Dreyer explained as to why Amazone concentrates its international social activities on this project for micro-farmers in Jharkhand and West Bengal. "In addition, here a clear reference to our business sector exists which cares about feeding the world."

Amazone trainees form a project group

​​​​​​​In addition to the financial support by Amazonen-Werke, also a group of Amazone trainees is charged with dealing with this Project. "The trainees will have major contact with the country, its population and this Amazone project", personnel Manager René Hüggelmeier announced. In this respect, the development of the country will be kept in focus; as to what the problems are and what kind of aid is needed. Perhaps some of them will also succeed in developing new solutions for additional support to the local population.