Foothills MP John Barlow recently traveled to Guatemala to see the works of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, farmers across Canada contribute portions of their crops to fund global initiatives to end world hunger.

One of the main goals of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and World Food Program in Guatemala is to address severe malnutrition and stunting among children.

Not only does the Foodgrains Bank provide food aid, but they also teach sustainable agriculture in rural communities and assist them with setting up their own businesses, with the goal of helping communities become self-sufficient.

The project they toured was a rural village high in the mountains, Barlow said.

"I think what was really eye opening is these communities are trying to build villages and farming communities in very hostile terrain. It's about 3,000 meters above sea level in some areas which is incredible as you can image, not a lot of things will grow up there."

He adds, development and large land holders continue to push the poorer population higher into the mountains.

Barlow said, they saw how the Canadian Foodgrains Bank was teaching people to grow potatoes, which is one of the commodities they can grow in the rough mountain terrain.

In one of the communities Barlow met with, there was a father and a son duo who have started their own business.

"They found a natural way through peppers and onions and vegetable oils to make this concoction of a pesticide that keeps wireworm and some of these other things off of their potatoes, which really helped their yields. Now they've started to package it, now they're going out to other communities to sell this pesticide."

In Guatemala, a lot of the men still go to Canada and the United States as temporary foreign workers or seasonal ag workers, said Barlow.

"A lot of it falls to the women in those communities to try and do the farming, do the businesses, so we saw a lot of women co-ops that have started businesses whether it's farm plots, or weaving community groups. They've really thought outside the box and have become really impressive entrepreneurs."

Barlow said, he's proud of the Canadian agriculture sector and organizations, like Canada Foodgrains Bank, that not only donate food, but provide the tools and skills to develop a strong and prosperous agriculture sector in rural economies around the world.