🌾 Can Faith, Farming, and Agroforestry Bring Hope to Mzimba, Malawi, Africa?

When I first arrived in Mzimba, Malawi, Africa, at first glance it looked almost familiar. In Indiana, where I now live, you see endless stretches of cornfields—huge commercial farms with tractors and combines as far as the eye can see. 

But in Malawi, those same rows of maize stretch across tiny village plots and small school farms, worked by hand and dependent only on the rains.

And while the scenery felt familiar for a moment, the reality hit hard. In one village, a mom told me that each day the adults received two ears of corn, and the children received only one. 

That was it. Nothing more. 

I have learned that for some children, one bowl of porridge from school is all they get in a day—if they are lucky enough to attend a school with a feeding program, one of Giving Basics’ biggest ministries with Shine Malawi.

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🌱 Why Corn and Soy Alone Aren’t Enough

Our feeding program provides corn and soy porridge for the kids at school—a warm meal that gives them strength to learn, play, and grow. 

It’s making a real difference.

But even as we feed the children, we know corn itself has become part of the problem. In Malawi, most farmers can’t save their corn seed for the next season. 

The manufactured seeds don’t reproduce—meaning families must buy new seed every year, whether they can afford it or not. And without access to fertilizer—which 90% of rural families simply can’t buy—exhausted soils produce very little.

Corn is filling, but it’s missing critical nutrients. 

Without variety, bodies suffer: weakened immune systems, stunted growth, and communities trapped in survival mode instead of thriving.

That’s why introducing other crops—fruits, vegetables, and legumes—through agroforestry, and teaching biblical methods like Farming God’s Way, is so important.

These approaches restore soil, reduce dependence on expensive seed and fertilizer, and create long-term food security.

What a New Way of Farming Looks Like

Agroforestry combined with Farming God’s Way creates a sustainable, healthy system for farmers.

• Farming God’s Way uses biblical principles along with worms and animals in the fields for natural manure, plus crop rotation to keep the soil replenished and healthy—without relying on expensive chemical fertilizers.

• Agroforestry complements this by planting shrubs and trees alongside crops, creating a diverse environment that improves soil health, brings hope for rain, and allows farmers to harvest seeds to replant or sell.

• It increases income by providing more produce to sell and a variety of seeds, giving farmers independence from expensive manufactured corn seeds that won’t reproduce.

This approach restores soil, improves yields, and builds long-term sustainability, but it’s a big change. 

Farmers must unlearn old habits passed down from their parents and embrace a method that may not be immediately profitable. 

For smaller farms like ours, it can be life-changing—but it takes dedication, patience, and faith.

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🌿 God’s Answer Through the Work of His People

While the land here has been stripped for generations—first by foreign powers, now by unsustainable farming practices—

I believe God is writing a new story. 

On a layover in the New York airport—of all places—our sea bags sparked a conversation with new friends from Canada who serve with Stand As One Ministry.

As they shared how Farming God’s Way combined with Agroforestry is transforming villages in Southern Malawi, we realized this was no coincidence. 

It was a divine appointment, planting the seed of a partnership that could bring restoration to Mzimba.

This isn’t just farming. It’s restoration. It’s hope. It’s the Gospel in action.

“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” — Proverbs 12:11

To me, that’s God reminding us that stewardship matters. When we care for His creation wisely, abundance follows—not just for us, but for our neighbors.

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🌾 Our Next Step: Training Farmers

This November, we’re sending 6–8 farmers from Mzimba, Malawi, Africa to an intensive agroforestry training with Stand as One Ministry. This is a leap of faith for our team to commit to. These men and women will learn how to:

• Restore soil that’s been depleted for generations.

• Plant a variety of nutrient-rich foods to fight malnutrition.

• Use farming as a means of income and dignity.

• Bring back what they’ve learned and train others—multiplying the impact.

One farmer has already been generously sponsored, but we need help for the rest. 

It costs $600 to sponsor a farmer—an investment that will feed families, restore land, and transform entire communities.

💛 Sponsor a farmer now: GivingBasics.org – Sponsor a Farmer

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🙏 Will You Join Us?

When I stood in that village, looking at children who only get one ear of corn a day while their parents get two, I felt both the weight of the need and the hope of God’s provision. 

We can’t do everything, but we can do something.

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9

This is the harvest I believe in—lives transformed by trusting God, land restored through faithful stewardship, and hope, both here on earth and eternal.

👉 Will you pray about sponsoring a farmer today?
💛 Donate & sponsor a farmer here: GivingBasics.org – Sponsor a Farmer

Together, we can turn fields of corn into fields of abundance.

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📚 Sources

World Health Organization – Pellagra and nutritional deficiencies

National Institutes of Health – Soy and thyroid function

Harvard School of Public Health – Corn’s nutrition profile

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN – Agroforestry for sustainable land use

• I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences, feel free to leave a comment below. 

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