Agraverse “dedicated to ending hunger and poverty” with support from the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering

While teaching social work courses at the University of Sierra Leone, Paul Conteh was interested in research in his home country’s rural areas, so he made “trips to the provincial areas very frequently as a result of my academic work.” “Amazed at how beautiful the landscape is” and “how the climate is so natural for agricultural productivity,” he grew concerned that the land wasn’t being utilized to its fullest potential. 

“I was concerned that with all the blessings that we have in terms of the climate, in terms of the soil, in terms of the overall ecological architecture, [that] we were not really utilizing these blessings to their fullest potential,” said Conteh. “I realized that something needs to be done by mobilizing farmers and see[ing] how we can at least use the land to its fullest potential.”

Desiring to meet the needs of both the land and farmers, Conteh created the concept of Agraverse, a program “dedicated to ending hunger and poverty by participating in food production, environmental sustainability and the foundations of economic justice issues.”

Conteh received Texas Baptist Hunger Offering funds in 2022 and took Agraverse from concept to creation. 

He first connected with Texas Baptists in 2013 while attending Baylor University to earn his master’s in social work. 

“Even when it comes to my first introduction to Baylor and Texas, it's been with Texas Baptists,” said Conteh. “The other thing is that there are several people who I started class with, studying at Baylor, who have some connections with the Hunger Offering, and the final thing is that the Hunger Offering has really blessed the country of Sierra Leone, especially to the Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone… so within these circles, I [heard] about the Hunger Offering.” 

Blessing farmers with peanut production

Conteh said the Hunger Offering “blessed us with the money” for Agraverse to be able to purchase peanut seeds and create a seed bank from which one bag of seeds is distributed “[as] a loan” to each local farmer involved in the program. 

Conteh explained that “the idea of a seed bank was brought to us by the farmers in Tonko Limba” when he and his team were considering how to involve local farmers without putting them in a position to be “fully dependent and be vulnerable” as Sierra Leone is “solely dependent on other countries for food.” 

“[They understand that they’re] going to pay back the seed loans we give them [at the end of the planting season], but with some interest… We don't arrive in the picture with an agenda of how much they should be in terms of interest, because we want to be mindful that we don't exploit them in the midst of our kindness. So, we have an agreement with them, and they share with us what they can pay in terms of interest… so that at least we can expand the seed bank program and add more farmers into the picture,” explained Conteh. 

Conteh said Kamasasa, Tonko Limba Chiefdom in North-West Sierra Leone, where Agraverse farmers have their land, “is really blessed when it comes to peanut production” so although the farmers have an agreement to pay back the one bag they received from Agraverse, they are left with “an average of seven bags.” 

Out of that abundance, Conteh decided to bless the farmers in return by using some of the Hunger Offering funds to purchase machines that, once harvested, turn the peanuts into products such as a Sierra Leone equivalent to peanut butter, to be sold at urban markets of Freetown, the country’s capital city, where Agraverse has its office space, "which helps a bit in putting some money in the hands of these farmers.”

Experiencing freedom through Agraverse 

Conteh explained that Sierra Leone is “a country of religious diversity [where] Muslims and Christians peacefully coexist” and it is “known to have religious tolerance.” He said Christianity is the second-largest religious affiliation in Sierra Leone, making up about 21% of the population. 

Coming from a Christian background himself, Conteh wanted to care for the farmers and their families spiritually as well. He said “most of [Agraverse’s] farmers are members of these churches,” so when administering the seed loans to farmers joining the program, he and the farmers “have made it clear about our faith in Christ Jesus.”  

“We've also been careful enough not to use religion as a means to discriminate against farmers,” explained Conteh. “Even if you don't practice the faith of Christianity, once you’re into active farming, you are at liberty to participate in it. But we are going to let you know who we are and be able to constantly share our faith through these [participants] that we are working with.”

Conteh recalled that the family that “we piloted the project with” has experienced spiritual and financial freedom from being a part of Agraverse. 

“The eldest child [of the family] is called Michael, and [the family was] struggling with how to pay his fees at the University of Sierra Leone. They were not sure exactly what to do… Then the Agraverse neighborhood program came into the picture, and [the] family [got involved] and they did a very good job,” said Conteh. “The proceeds from [their] value addition and sale of the surplus peanuts… are 100% invested into the education of Michael. As I'm speaking with you, Michael is in his second year studying accounting at the University of Sierra Leone.” 

Conteh said Michael’s father experienced freedom from addiction through farming with Agraverse. 

“What I've learned is that when people turn to alternatives and [make it] their idol, it is very easy for the devil to distract them with these things that don't make sense, but when they have something going on, they get concentrated and focus on that,” said Conteh. 

He said he saw that Michael’s father “got himself busy” in developing farms, being a local leader among the farmers and the processes of surplus products and value addition. 

“The last time I spoke with his wife, all that she told me were compliments about how her husband has transformed from [an alcoholic] to a leader in the community,” said Conteh. 

Teaching gardening to address hunger    

Agraverse has grown from serving 60 families to 100 families since its start in 2022, and Conteh said the Hunger Offering’s support helped make that growth possible. 

“We are moving towards the third year of the implementation of the Agraverse program. And up to now, we [have] not asked for any more outside help besides the initial investments that the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering gave us,” said Conteh.

He said since funding Agraverse to buy the seeds and machines to produce value-add products, the Hunger Offering has been invested in what God is doing in Sierra Leone. 

“In addition to that, Hunger Offering constantly asks us for reports so that they can have an idea of what we are doing, pray for our ministry and at the same time share the wonderful work God is doing in Sierra Leone,” said Conteh. 

Conteh said he would like to see Agraverse “transition from a ministry that's dedicated purely to farming, to a ministry that will embrace integral ecology,” where the people, the environment and society are involved. 

“If you want to make that evolution, you don't just focus on the rural areas, you also have to focus on the urban areas. [We] want to teach gardening in the urban areas of Freetown,” said Conteh. 

Conteh explained that “most of the churches in Sierra Leone have vast land that is still unused” and could be used to teach “pastors and leaders how to create garden structures within the church premises.” 

“[Teaching gardening] is one way we can even address the issues around food injustices, food insecurity and food dependability in a small country like Sierra Leone,” said Conteh. 

Conteh’s further vision for the future of Agraverse is to build a physical presence called “Agraversity,” where people can be trained on “how to best use the agrarian space for food sufficiency and the transformation of society.” 

“We [are] pray[ing] about it and will be exploring ways in which God wants us to implement them,” said Conteh. 

Conteh said he is seeking further support from the Hunger Offering to add these things to the Agraverse program. 

Every 5th Sunday, churches gather together and take a special offering during worship to fight hunger and serve their brothers and sisters in Texas and around the world. 

The next 5th Sunday is June 29. Join in the fight against hunger today by giving a gift at hungeroffering.org/5th-sunday.