The Russian invasion of Ukraine alerted us all to current situation regarding food shortages globally and so in our prayer watch we wanted to begin to explore this area with input from friends from Hope Countryside. In 2018 the Hope Countryside partnership began with ourselves, Village Hope and the Agricultural Christian Fellowship in order to mobilise and inform prayer for all things rural.
We heard about the current sobering statistics. The Global Food Report Crisis 2022 report stated that the latest estimates from the U.N. World Food Programme declare that 870 million people worldwide – more than 1 out of every 10 people on the planet – are living with hunger in 2022. “We are facing hunger on an unprecedented scale, food prices have never been higher,
and millions of lives and livelihoods are hanging in the balance.”
15 of the 17 hungriest countries on earth are located in sub-Saharan Africa, Somalia (#1, with a score of 50.8), South Sudan, Comoros, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Madagascar all ranking in the top 10. Other nations in the list: Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan and Haiti. Crisis nations include: Yemen, Madagascar and Ethiopia (Tigray) where they are facing famine and starvation.
In the first part we invited input from Dr John Wibberley a Christian Agriculturalist & Preacher and Professor of Comparative Agriculture & Rural Extension, visiting at University of Reading & at Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester where he was until 1989 Head of Agriculture. John works across the UK and overseas and part of Agricultural Christian Fellowship. He explored a number of themes including the areas of Food Security and Ecosystem security.
In the second part we invited input from Carolyn McQuaker a long term friend of World Prayer Centre and part of the Hope Countryside partnership to share from her perspective.
It was such a privilege to worship and pray together via zoom and these are themes that we shall be returning to as we ask the Lord to give us wisdom “If any of you lacks wisdom, they should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to them”. James 1:5
Further resources:
Hope Countryside monthly update Seeds of Prayer
Hope Countryside Day on the Farm – 2 July
John Wibberley Approaching Integral Mission African Christian Textbooks
Jane Holloway is the National Prayer director at the World Prayer Centre Birmingham.
