Harvests of Blessings Lead to Food Security

Food security means knowing where meals are coming from today and into the future. For families around the world who experience hunger, food security is a challenge. World Renew works to end hunger globally by offering opportunities to farmers and families to grow healthy food. Through training in climate-adaptive farming techniques, farmer field schools, and gardening support, World Renew helps families grow crops to nourish themselves and generate income. People around the world now use their skills to achieve food security in their households and communities.

Adopting new farming techniques in Nicaragua

Ramón Yalít Aragón lives in the Jabillo community in Nicaragua with his wife and four children. Ever since he was old enough to know his own name, Aragón has worked as a farmer to help support his family.

Aragón had always farmed using the same techniques as his parents and their parents before them: make small holes in the soil, insert the seeds, and let them be. His crops rarely grew, or they produced only small fruit, and they were vulnerable to diseases and pests.

“Every time I put a seed in the ground, I know that the soil and the Lord will give me back something,” he said. “However, with traditional farming our yields are low; when there is a drought, things get bad.”

Then Aragón became involved with a World Renew farmer field school in his community. He started experimenting with different methods of planting and produced a harvest of huge tomatoes that year. Aragón now uses manure from the animals he raises as well as “plant trash” (mulch) to help fill seed holes and grow better crops.

“I used to think manure was an annoyance,” he said. “It was extra work to deal with, and I would let it go to waste. Now I know that I have a fertilizer factory! I use the manure as organic fertilizer in my fields.”

The techniques he learned help him conserve the soil and provide for his family, even with Nicaragua’s variable climate. Aragón now encourages his friends to experiment with different farming methods.

Increasing food security with new tools in Zambia

In Zambia’s Eastern Province, farmers are feeling the effects of changing weather patterns in short, unpredictable rains. Eunice Moyo knew she needed to change her farming practices to sustainably meet the food needs of her family of five children. A couple of years ago, Moyo tried a practice called “ripping” she learned from an agricultural project offered by World Renew’s partner, the Reformed Church in Zambia.

Ripping is a kind of deep tilling using a special tool with very long tines to break up soil deep beneath the surface. If done correctly, it doesn’t disturb the top layer of soil but still breaks up hard soil beneath. This helps rain infiltrate quickly and is an effective way to apply manure to increase crop fertility.

“I first heard about ripping in 2021 through an agriculture extension officer, and I decided to try a small section to see how my maize crop would perform,” Moyo explained. “The results were not that bad, but I was not willing to continue because I had challenges with weeds.”

The following year, Moyo got the information she needed to use ripping successfully. She received lessons in conservation agriculture that gave her a better understanding of ripping and applying manure. As part of the program, World Renew distributed a ripping tool to each participant. “I was the first to use it and ripped my field in November. This allowed me to plant with the first rains,” Moyo said.

“I have learned that early planting is good,” she explained. “My maize did very well in spite of a dry spell. As a family, we are happy with the results of adopting conservation agriculture, and we plan to rip all our farmland now that we see the benefits. For me and my family, I can say that we are food secure until the next harvest.”

Supporting a community through gardening in Senegal

For a long time, Fama Niang did not know the power of working together with other women in her village in Senegal. But after connecting with Services Luthériens pour le Développement au Sénégal (Lutheran Services for Development in Senegal, or SLDS), World Renew’s local partner in her community, she and other women learned to grow food for their families’ consumption and for generating income.

Through SLDS, Niang and 25 other women joined a women’s savings group that gave them the training and resources they needed to build a community vegetable garden. Niang and the women were excited to start growing vegetables such as hibiscus, okra, and eggplant. The women were even more excited when they began to sell their garden produce in their village and in nearby villages for a good profit.

Thanks to their garden, these women are able not only to make money to take care of their families, but also to provide for the needs of their community. Through a solidarity fund, they helped provide for the medical needs of a single mother and for pregnant women struggling to get by. The funds also paid for installing electricity in their village.

Niang is the vice president of the group. She is thrilled about everything the group is achieving. When she looks at a flourishing vegetable garden, she now understands that it is not only a source of sustenance for today, but a source of hope for the future.

“The people in the village are happy with us. They said that they have never seen such solidarity,” Niang said. “Our garden has helped the village considerably, and we are really proud of it. We thank the donors and pray to God to grant us the means to develop additional sources of income.”

Thanks to financial support and prayers for World Renew’s work, people like Aragón, Moyo, and Niang are achieving food security for their families and communities. Please pray for continued provision and resources as World Renew works to end hunger around the world.