Climate change is impacting the most vulnerable people in Africa, subsistence farmers. As soil becomes more degraded and yields fail, farmers move into more land, which poses a growing threat in terms of deforestation.
The Anglican Church in Kenya has embraced “Farming God’s Way ” as a way to improve food security. This methodology of faith based agriculture started 30 years ago in Zimbabwe and has spread to 20 countries. In the face of climate change it is becoming a very important strategy.
It is based on theological principles learned from God, the first farmer! Farming is seen as part of worship and should be done in a way that honours God.
The value of God’s creation is emphasized in the protection of the eco-system. The soil is disturbed as little as possible to protect worms and micro organisms (minimal tillage). Mulch is used (God’s blanket) to preserve water and release nutrients into the soil. Trees are grown to produce natural fertilisers and soil and natural pollinators such as bees , butterflies and birds are attracted to the system once pesticides are no longer used.
The Anglian Church of Kenya and Uganda has embraced Farming God’s Way in order to break the yoke of food insecurity.
“I am the regional development coordinator of the Anglican Development Services , Mount Kenya (five Dioceses) , in partnership with the Alliance for Religions and Conservation. We selected the area with the most degraded soils for this project. We train in “farmers field schools”, firstly, trainers of trainers (TOTs) are selected who mentor nine farmers each. Exposure visits are arranged since seeing in believing. We have had a lot of success, their yields have increased. The demand has been overwhelming. We began with 500 households and have upscaled to 3500 households! One farmer shared how before doing Farming Gods way he used to get one bag of maize from half an acre and when he used this method his yield increased to ten bags”– Kennedy Gichira – Anglican Development Services – Mount Kenya
Kennedy Gichira is attending the International workshop on Faith Based Farming and Sustainable Land Management in Mukono Uganda, hosted by the Alliance for Religions and Conservation 
