The Rural Voice, 1990-02, Page 26OF
MUTUAL
BENEFIT
•
An interview with
Don Langford,
farmer
and development
worker
•
by Peter Baltensperger
Agricultural aid and emergency
relief to developing nations
are not just necessities in this
time of drastic economic discrepancies
and world-wide change. They are
important responsibilities for anyone
living in the industrially developed
countries of the affluent west.
This is the basic philosophy of Don
Langford, a farmer and seed grower in
Kerwood, Ontario.
Above all, Langford says, agri-
cultural exchanges with developing
nations provide invaluable learning
experiences and the opportunity to
reassess the value systems that
Don and Carol Langford with daughters Molly and Julie and grandson Robbie. Don
stresses the importance of family in farm life. "Family values are important to society."
characterize family farming, commu-
nity relationships, and social attitudes.
"We have much to give, but we
also have much to learn," he adds.
Don Langford has impressive qual-
ifications and wide-ranging practical
experience to back up his beliefs. He
first went to Africa more than 20 years
ago, and has been involved in various
foreign aid and agricultural exchange
programs ever since.
In 1967, when he was studying
crop science at the Ontario Agricul-
tural College, he joined the student
exchange program Operation Cross-
roads and spent the summer building
a youth centre in Niger, North Africa.
By the end of the summer, he already
knew that he wanted to go back as
soon as he could. "I wanted to under-
stand, not just observe," he says.
He subsequently married Carol,
who was studying food and nutrition
in Guelph, and the two went back to
Africa as United Church agricultural
missionaries in 1969. They spent
three years in Algeria as extension
workers and soil and crop specialists
in a program organized by the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture, the Mid-
dlesex County agricultural office,
and the World Council of Churches.
22 THE RURAL VOICE