Food is the basic necessity for human sustenance and survival. It is also the centre of every society. Contrary to popular belief, farming is the oldest profession. Further to that, it provides jobs and keeps the economy afloat. Everyone has to eat. As such, food must be the number one priority in building a nation.
There has been great focus on the stock market, building infrastructure, and while they have their places, farming must be at the top of the list.
Entering 2020, the number of hungry and malnourished people around the world was already on the rise due to an increase in violent conflict and climate change impacts. Today, over 800 million people face chronic undernourishment and more than 100 million people are in need of lifesaving food assistance. The novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, risks undermining the efforts of humanitarian and food security organizations seeking to reverse these trends.
As former International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Director General Shenggen Fan, writes, “COVID-19 is a health crisis. But it could also lead to a food security crisis if proper measures are not taken.”
Every major outbreak in recent memory—Ebola, SARS, MERS—has had both direct and indirect negative impacts on food security. On this episode of Hacking Hunger, Dr. Chase Sova, WFP USA senior director of public policy and research, tells us what the experts are saying about the likelihood and nature of such impacts from COVID-19.
Food and Prosperity
For any nation to walk in true prosperity, debt reduction and be free from financial bondage of any kind, then agriculture must be the order of the day. Most of what we consume – man’s sustenance – comes from the ground.
God cannot bless until we put our hands to work. Farming should take place year-round – regardless of climate and weather conditions. If we fail to plow, we will have no food. Now is the season to begin to plow. Nations or individuals who want prosperity, need to begin planning and put the hard work behind it. Quick fixes will lead any nation into poverty. There has to be a plan regarding food security. (Ecclesiastes 11: 4; Deuteronomy 28: 12; Proverbs 21: 5)
Planting Seeds
Without planting seed, there will be no future. There are many kinds of seeds. Natural seeds, the seed of men and women (the fruit of the body), the Word of God, and the seed of our mouths. There can be no harvest unless we plant seeds and now is the time!
Good nutrition brings good health. Most of our sicknesses are the result of what we eat. A great deal of our food is contaminated, so we need to plant what we eat and begin to cut down on importation.
There is famine ahead and God wants to teach us creative and new ways in farming. (Isaiah 28: 26 – 29). In the same way that through His Divine wisdom, God causes the farmer to bring forth crops, God also activates within his people, the necessary wisdom to bring forth a special harvest.
Greenhouse Farming
With the weather systems, locust swarms, the pandemic we are currently experiencing as well as the other diseases less spoken of, Greenhouse Farming is the way to go!
Greenhouse farming is the practice of grown crops within sheltered structures covered by transparent materials. The principal purpose of the Greenhouse is to provide a favorable environment for growth of crops regardless of the whether or climate. Greenhouse farming provides an excellent opportunity to grow high quality crops for marketing and consumption. It also maximizes smaller spaces.
Without a doubt, considering the conditions we may experience in the future, we need to strategically capitalize on maximizing the use of space in order to get the most out of our agricultural endeavors.
Solutions
Farmers who cultivate different kinds of vegetables and fruits, they need to get funding to set up their own solar panel systems, to ensure proper growth and harnessing of nutrients as well as proper protection from pestilence. There must be funding from the government to construct very large buildings to house, protect and rear the farm animals – cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats and sheep.
Apostle Dr. Steve Lyston is an economic advisor. He advices many organizational leaders and government.
