India (MNN) — Global food prices have soared by more than
60% in the last year. Coupled with an
explosion of rats in India's Northeast, there's an increasing fear that the
situation could worsen.
The rat population in Mizoram and Manipur has experienced a
massive growth because of an increase in food supply (flowering bamboo). Once those seeds are gone, the rats move on
to rice paddies and other crops. When
that food sources is exhausted, they begin to attack stored grain.
FARMS International's Joseph Richter says their partners in Nagaland
confirm a dire situation. "By June
of this year, they expect the situation to become very dire. The fear is that next year there'll be famine
in Nagaland. Our committee there reports
that even now in the state south of them, Mizoram, people there are dying
because of lack of food."
Richter says they're likely to increase the number of
ministry projects and evangelism in response. "The local church is really God's plan for community development
and community outreach. and we feel that a strong church supported by its
members and its tithing and giving is the most effective way to reach out into
a community."
The ministry works through local churches to help disciple
families and teach the biblical necessity of tithing and generous giving. In a
recent letter from their team, one member writes, "The individual entrepreneurs are an
outstanding example of self-dependence and dignity of labor. This no doubt has
helped a long way in the growth of the local churches, especially in rural
areas."
