Agriculture

The United Methodist Church’s (UMC) Agriculture Committees—often functioning at local, regional (Annual Conference), and global levels—exist to combat food insecurity, empower rural communities, and help make local churches financially self-sufficient by optimizing the church’s land and human resources.

Key functions of these committees include:

1. Enhancing Food Security

Providing Resources:

Supplying farmers and local communities with seeds, tools, and agricultural inputs to transition from food scarcity to food abundance.

Farming Hubs:

Utilizing church-owned land (such as parsonage yards or large mission farms) to establish agricultural hubs that grow crops and raise livestock to feed vulnerable populations.

2. Economic Empowerment & Self-Sufficiency

Commercializing Agriculture:

Shifting church agriculture away from basic subsistence farming toward commercial, profitable ventures that generate sustainable income to support local congregations.

Training & Education:

Offering educational programs in crop management, animal husbandry, and agribusiness to equip women, youth, and retirees with marketable, income-generating skills

3. Global & Regional Support

The Yambasu Agriculture Initiative:

Across Africa, committees collaborate with global branches like the General Board of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to execute massive agricultural grants, training, and research

Disaster Mitigation:

Helping communities recover from droughts or crises by implementing resilient, irrigated farming techniques and providing relief during food shortages.