When Daniel applies the techniques taught by Foundations for Farming, he harvests three times more maize than usual.
Years of burning the fields after the harvest and over-farming had drained the soil of nutrients, but Daniel* didn’t know any other way to manage his small plot of land—that was the way it had always been done in his small village in Malawi. With a wife and five children, he needed the plot to produce as much as possible to feed his family. In a good season, Daniel harvested up to nine bags of maize (corn), the staple food of Malawi, but in years with too little or too much rain, the yield was less, and the family struggled.
In 2017, Daniel was invited to join Foundations for Farming (FFF). With the gospel at its centre, the OM-run programme teaches methods designed to bring nutrients back to the soil, such as composting, water retention techniques and the planting of trees. Daniel was eager to apply what he had learnt to his field, and the next season he harvested 34 bags of maize—more than three times as much as the previous season.
Since then, his family has saved enough money to buy a one-acre field and began growing sweet potatoes, tomatoes and rice in addition to more maize. They have also invested in goats, which reproduce quickly and provide meat as well as fertilizer for the fields.
FFF is about more than growing crops—it’s about growing in the knowledge that Jesus loves everyone and died for their sins. The majority of the people who attend FFF are Muslims and are learning about Jesus—sometimes for the first time—through the Bible study component of the programme. As participants hear Scripture in their own language and discuss what they heard, seeds are sown. Pray that these seeds will take root and grow, bearing witness to the new life that comes from Christ.
*name changed