The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian aid and development organization of the United Methodist Church. They support people in need through key impact areas like disaster relief, health and hunger, education, community development and more. Through their work they transform the lives of individuals and nurture communities in sustainable ways.
Their Bishop John K. Yambasu Agriculture Initiative supports churches across Africa in fully mobilizing local and regional resources for crops and animal raising. The program improves household livelihoods and food security through training opportunities, providing seeds and tools and ultimately helping communities in Africa to become more self-sustaining. Recently they had 27 farm and technical operatives from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe attend at a two-week training to learn agricultural entrepreneurial skills in sustainable farming. The initiative has also cultivated about 140 acres for rice farming in Sierra Leone, is developing farms across Zimbabwe, training 200 farmers in Liberia, and working on intensive agricultural development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They developed a training center in North Katanga, DRC, and are working with communities in crop production, marketing, administration and project development. Through these programs UMCOR and its partners can address critical problems around food security in Africa, generate income to fund future projects, create jobs for local communities and provide an additional source of revenue for participants.
