Food security: Baptist Convention begins farming -President

The Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) says it is committed to contributing to ensuring food sufficiency and security in the nation.

According to it, as a way to achieving the goal, the church has gone into farming to make food available to people.

The President of NBC, Rev. Israel Akanji, made the assertion  on Monday while speaking to newsmen at the ongoing NBC 111 Annual Session at the Baptist International Convention Centre Klm. 54, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Lufuwape Ogun.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Convention, holding from April 20 to April 25, to commemorate the 110 years of the body’s advent in Nigeria is tagged “Super Centenary Anniversary”.

The event with the theme:  “Entering into Newness through Discipleship and Apostleship” , is hosted by the Edo State Convention .

It would afford the people the opportunity to worship, praise, seek divine directives and commune with God.

Akanji, who described the body as congregationalist, said that the church, with the intention to meet people’s needs, has acquired a large expanse of land in Dikko, Niger State; Osun and other places to plant crops and engage in animal husbandry.

“We are going to train people in various farming methods and make land and other aids to farming available to make for food sufficiency.

“The decision was reached as a result of the food scarcity and the high cost of food stuffs that people have been subjected to in recent times, of which had yet to abate.

“With the theme of the super centenary convention, that is, entering into the newness through discipleship and apostleship, the NBC is exploring new avenues to impact lives,” he said.

He explained that the farm project would be run on self sustaining basis, with the church providing direction in order for it not to derail from its objective – food availability to people.

He pointed that the body, which had been into many pro-life projects, would not lose focus on its cardinal objective of preaching the Good News to enable people gain the needed salvation.

According to him,  the farm project, like other intervention programmes by church, has no profit making motive, rather, has a service-oriented one.

NAN reports that the church, with focus on the salvation of souls through evangelism, has continued to make impact in the provision of needed social amenities in the society, including establishing schools, hospitals, scholarship to students and others.