Monday, April 22, is Earth Day, held annually on this date since 1970 to serve “as a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and take action for a healthier planet and brighter future,” states EARTHDAY.ORG, whose mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide.
At Bread and Water for Africa® we support the Earth Day mission to address climate change and promote sustainable gardening and environmentally sensitive practices through our agricultural partners in sub-Saharan African countries.
For example, in Malawi, our partner, Faithful Heart Foundation (FHF) operates a training program for a method called Farming God’s Way (also known as conservation farming) which minimizes soil disruption to prevent erosion of precious topsoil.
“This training of Farming in God’s Way will be done with the purpose of teaching local farmers who desire to improve their standards of living by changing their mode of farming from conventional (local) methodology to Biblical principles,” says FHF chairperson Alex Steven Bango.
With support from Bread and Water for Africa®, at a cost of $50 per person, FHF provides trainees with the knowledge and tools they need to feed their families and generate income through no-till farming practices which is being adopted by more and more smallholder farmers in the region of the country served by FHF.
“There are five village heads who are doing Farming God’s Way for their vegetable growing,” Alex reported in December, adding, “They are also encouraging their villagers to do the same and explaining the advantages of Farming God’s Way.”
Among the recent participants is Joyce Zalero, a single mother of three who told us after being trained by Pastor Bango, she had learned that it could be very profitable to try the FGW method and converted a portion of her maize (corn) growing operation at her home.
“After making planting holes, I put ash then a cup of manure and then covered it when rain had fallen,” said Joyce. “When it germinated, I covered it with a blanket of grasses. When my seedlings sprouted we experienced a dry spell for six weeks, but my maize was not highly affected by the harsh weather.
“This taught me that FGW methods are better than the conventional method of farming,” she said. “If I had known, I would have planted a bigger portion. For this next growing season, I will prepare and extend to do a larger portion.”
The theme of this year’s 54th annual Earth Day is “Planet v. Plastic” and in 2021, CNN reported that “Malawi’s landscape is clogged with plastic waste that could linger for 100 years,” but through Farming God’s Way the use of plastic, such as sheeting to protect seedlings, is eliminated through the use of natural, biodegradable materials such straw and grasses.
And as for Alex, he wanted to take this Earth Day to thank the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® “for your bountiful blessings of funds which helped us to training all these dear brothers and sisters and it’s our prayer for them to fulfill our visions and goals.
“It’s also our prayer many families to be reached and trained with this system of farming for themselves stand this difficulty circumstances we are going through financially and shortages of food at family level, community and national level to end our dependency spirit to be self-reliance.”
