Pesticide Action Network UK

We’ve been supporting Pan UK’s Growing Hope Project for the last 4 years, helping to fund many organic cotton farmers in Benin, West Africa to find a way to farm organically without having to use nasty chemicals and pesticides.

They’ve produced  a food spray that attracts predatory insects to cotton plants, who then get rid of cotton plant pests. They’ve spent 2 years testing the new spray, as well as training farmers when to use it. It's all really great stuff and they've been using our donations for all sorts of good things. Last year, we funded 5 new Neem oil-making machines - one for each of the 5 major organic cotton growing regions where Pan UK works. These mechanical grinders make making Neem Oil easier, faster and more efficient.

Neem seed extract is one of the most effective bio-pesticides for the Benin organic cotton farmers. Neem trees grow wild all over the country, meaning the raw material is  free! Turning neem seeds into oil is a community affair, with all the local farmers coming together to collect the seeds and grind them up. But the grinding process is slow and hard work, needing several days to make enough neem powder to last the season.

This year, our donations are helping PAN UK to spread the learnings of the Growing Hope Project to other farmers, helping them convert to organic cotton in an econimcally viable way. This is really important as it means that these farmers can get a better price for their crop and that they and their families are not exposed to the harmful pesticides that have been responsible for so many deaths in their villages in the past. You can see why the project is called Growing Hope...! With any luck, and with our continued support, the project should help loads and loads of farmers in Benin :)

Find out more at http://www.pan-uk./