Sometimes it is hard to imagine the significant changes that can come from very simple innovations.  But for a family that barely scrapes a living from traditional subsistence agriculture, the discovery that traditional varieties are not the only option in God's wide creation can open the door to a measure of food security and new opportunities.  Here are a couple of vignettes of what happened when two families encountered an ACDI extension agent telling people about new varieties of manioc, peanuts, oil palms and cowpeas.

Papa Kintibidi of Longo, near Djuma, moved out of his village when disputes in the extended family starting gnawing at his family's well-being.  Back in 2003, he met ACDI extension specialist, Philippe Kikobo.  He learned about the new "miracle" varieties and rode his bicycle 40 kms to Lusekele to get seed cuttings from ACDI.  He planted a small multiplication field and the next year supplied the whole village with cuttings.  The farmer's association to which he belongs took some of the cuttings and planted several large multiplication fields.  By the end of the second year they were selling new manioc cuttings to farmers clamoring to share in the bounty.  Selling cuttings was even more profitable than selling dried manioc. With his share of the receipts, he was able to secure rights to a farm of 32 acres. In rural Congo that makes him a wealthy person. He and his wife have added a small plantation of oil palms.  This promises to provide a steady income for them and their children for the next 25 years.

Kapita Gabi and his wife live in Wamba. They have 6 growing kids. The two oldest are in their last year of high school.  The youngest is 6. The family started growing four new varieties of disease-resistant manioc in 2004.  They had no idea how this simple decision was going to change their lives. Every year for the last four years they dug bumper manioc harvests from their fields.  Those surpluses have literally put a roof over their heads and sent the kids to school. This year they built a new house out of adobe bricks. Bricks can be (and were) made by hand ("sweat equity"). But manioc and peanut surpluses paid for the tin sheeting for the roof.  In typical African fashion, the benefits haven't been confined to the family compound.  Papa Kapita is now helping his youngest brother to go to college, an opportunity that no one would have dreamed of five years ago.

For most people in the States, a few hundred dollars more a year doesn't seem like a lot.  But for an enterpising Congolese couple, that can be the difference between scraping along at the edge of existence and beginning to build a secure future.  Hunger can be pushed away as a primary concern.  Educating kids becomes possible.  Maybe even investing in a stable income generating activity like palm oil production can be considered.  Every time this happens we praise God for the opportunities he gives us to share his generosity with others.  Surely his goodness and mercy endure for ever.