Guidance on writing a personalised letter or email
You should use your own words as personalised letters have the most impact.
Suggested outline for your letter
Explain that half the world’s hungry people live and work on small farms. They cannot grow enough to feed themselves and their families all year round.
You are concerned that the needs of poor farmers are not given a high priority by the UK government, as their spending on agriculture in developing countries has halved in the last ten years.
Ask your MP to contact the Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander. Ask him to urge Douglas Alexander to demonstrate that the Government is serious about tackling global hunger and poverty by:
- Putting the needs of poor farmers at the heart of its policy on agriculture in developing countries'
- Increasing the amount of aid given to agriculture in developing countries
- making sure that it reaches the poorest people - Supporting investments that provide poor farmers services and support they need to be able to grow more food and increase their income
- Ensuring that poor farmers have a say in the decisions that affect them
Say that you look forward to hearing from him/her. You could add that you would be happy to meet with them face-to-face to discuss you concerns further.
Top tips
| Make it personal |
 | Don’t worry about length – short and to the point or longer and more detailed are both fine |
| | Include your name and address so that your MP can reply |
| | Ask your MP to raise your concerns with Douglas Alexander – this will mean your MP will write to the Government |
| Consider asking for a meeting with your MP to talk about your concerns |
