Earth Day: ADRA Promotes Green Farming
SILVER SPRING, Md. – On April 22, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) will be commemorating the worldwide environmental movement, Earth Day. This year more 1 billion participants are expected to participate in the 41st anniversary of the campaign in more than 192 countries. This year’s theme of Earth Day is “A Billion Acts of Green,” encouraging participants to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy.
ADRA is an agency that understands the importance of securing a healthy future for current generation, and generations to come. This principle is demonstrated through a number of environmental-friendly projects ADRA implements worldwide. Through the establishment of farmer field schools (FFS), ADRA offers training to farmers in a wide range of agricultural practices, familiarizing them with the latest technologies.
In the rural Nicaraguan region of Nueva Segovia, ADRA has been promoting “green” farming initiatives to local farmers across 150 communities. These ADRA-designed classes teach best practices in agriculture and nutrition, promoting techniques that will dramatically reduce the use of drip irrigation and optimize the use of less water.
“This way of farming is more compatible and is in harmony with the environment,” explained one production farmer. Through these courses, ADRA’s agricultural expertise has not only improved the standard of living for the community, but has fostered prosperity and provided jobs for families.
For years, ADRA has been conducting training in soil management geared towards conserving the soil’s physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics. Through this training, farmers gain knowledge on how to maintain the soil’s optimal productivity, thereby steadily increasing their harvest.
In addition to ADRA’s soil management training is the reforestation initiative. This program targets areas negatively affected by soil erosion and desertification and works towards promoting natural rehabilitation of damaged soils. As part of this initiative, ADRA has successfully established tree nurseries that utilize trays for seedling production. This method has reaped great success in producing improved seedling quality, seedling growth, plant survival and an overall increase in trees planted.
Through training programs and implementation, ADRA remains committed to advocate the importance of a healthy world.
