World Vision Canada provides seeds and agricultural tools to more than 80,000 families living in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East each year.

The recipients have experienced a prolonged food shortage due to drought, floods, insect infestations, natural disasters, irregular weather patterns, war, or displacement. 

The farmers don't own tractors or other machinery. They farm by hand with simple gardening tools, such as a hoe or a machete, and in some cases with ox and plough.

Here are five ways World Vision helps farming families:

1. Staff experts working in World Vision project areas choose seeds that will grow where they are planted. For example, in the tropical Democratic Republic of the Congo, farmers receive cassava shoots and seeds for peanuts, soybeans, and maize.
2. Some families also receive livestock. Canadians donate these pigs, rabbits, goats, and chickens, through World Vision's Gift Catalogue .
3. Farmers who receive seeds at planting time agree to return the same quantity to World Vision after harvest. Staff members use the new batch of seeds to help even more farming families in need.
4. Training is a valuable part of the program. Staff members teach farmers agricultural techniques that help them adapt to the changing environment and to survive periods of drought and flood.
5. World Vision buys most of the seeds and tools locally. This helps support the local economy and encourages merchants to stock improved varieties of seeds.