Global Food Production at Risk After Convergence Of Disasters  

Global food production is being hit from seemingly every side.  Thanks to absolutely crazy weather patterns, giant locust armies in Africa and the Middle East, and an unprecedented outbreak of African Swine Fever in China, a lot less food is being produced around the world than originally anticipated.  

Even during the best of years we really struggle to feed everyone on the planet, and so a lot of people are wondering what is going to happen as global food supplies become tighter and tighter.  The mainstream media in the United States is so obsessed with politics right now that they haven't been paying much attention to this emerging crisis, but the truth is that this growing nightmare is only going to intensify in the months ahead.

In Australia, conditions have been extremely hot and extremely dry, and that helped to fuel the horrific wildfires that we recently witnessed. And everyone knew that agricultural production in Australia was going to be disappointing this year, but it turns out that it is actually going to be the worst ever recorded... Australia's hottest and driest year on record has slashed crop production, with summer output expected to fall to the lowest levels on record, according to official projections released Tuesday.

The country's agriculture department said it expects production of crops like sorghum, cotton and rice to fall 66 percent -- the lowest levels since records began in 1980-81. The continent of Australia is considered to be one of the breadbaskets of the world.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2018/19 Australia exported over 9 million tons of wheat to the rest of the world. But thanks to relentless crop failures, Australia has started to import wheat, and that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

So instead of helping to feed the rest of the world, Australia is now relying on the rest of us to help feed them. And what is happening this year didn't just barely break the old records.  In fact, one senior economist says that this will be the worst summer crop production the country has ever seen "by a large margin"... "It is the lowest summer crop production in this period by a large margin," Peter Collins, a senior economist with the department's statistical body ABARES told AFP.

Of course if the rest of the world was doing great we could certainly survive a downturn in Australia. Unfortunately, that is definitely not the case.

Right now, billions upon billions of locusts are voraciously devouring farms in eastern Africa and the Middle East.  As I detailed the other day, giant armies of locusts the size of large cities are traveling up to 100 miles per day as they search for food.  

When they descend on a farm, all the crops can be consumed literally within 30 seconds.  It is a nightmare of epic proportions, and UN officials are telling us that this crisis is only going to get worse over the next couple of months.

In Uganda, the army has been called out to help fight this locust plague, but it is making very little difference... Under a warm morning sun scores of weary soldiers stare as millions of yellow locusts rise into the northern Ugandan sky, despite hours spent spraying vegetation with chemicals in an attempt to kill them.

From the tops of shea trees, fields of pea plants and tall grass savanna, the insects rise in a hypnotic murmuration, disappearing quickly to wreak devastation elsewhere. The most effective way of fighting these locust swarms is to spray insecticide on them from the air, but even that only produces very limited results.

However, at least it is better than doing nothing. The UN is trying to raise a lot more money to get more planes into the air, because if nothing is done the number of locusts "could grow up to 500 times by June"...The U.N. has said $76 million is needed immediately. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit to Ethiopia said the U.S. would donate another $8 million to the effort. That follows an earlier $800,000.

The number of overall locusts could grow up to 500 times by June, when drier weather begins, experts have said. Until then, the fear is that more rains in the coming weeks will bring fresh vegetation to feed a new generation of the voracious insects. Overall, these locusts are affecting nations "with a combined population of nearly 2 billion", and the amount of food that these locusts are destroying is unprecedented.

Meanwhile, China has been dealing with the worst outbreak of African Swine Fever in history. African Swine Fever does not affect humans, but it sweeps through herds of pigs like wildfire.  There is no vaccine, there is no cure, and once African Swine Fever starts infecting pigs in a certain area the only thing that can be done is to kill the rest of the pigs to keep it from spreading anywhere else.

Unfortunately, China has not been able to get this outbreak under control, and the losses have been staggering.

According to the New York Times, the number of pigs that have been wiped out in China already is equivalent to "nearly one-quarter of all the world's pigs"... The disease was first reported in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, in early August 2018. By the end of August 2019, the entire pig population of China had dropped by about 40 percent. China accounted for more than half of the global pig population in 2018, and the epidemic there alone has killed nearly one-quarter of all the world's pigs. But of course China is not the only one dealing with African Swine Fever. In fact, cases of African Swine Fever have now been identified "in 50 countries", and U.S. pig farmers are deathly afraid of what would happen if this disease starts spreading here.

As a result of this crisis, pork prices in China have gone through the roof, and many families are no longer able to eat pork at all. Never before in the modern era have we seen so many major threats to global food production emerge simultaneously.

There are more than 7 billion people living on our planet today, and we need to be able to grow enough food to feed everyone. If we aren't able to do that, food prices will start to get really high, and people in the poorest areas simply will not have enough food to feed their families.

Boko Haram Terrorists Attack Predominantly Christian Community in Northeast Nigeria

JOS, Nigeria, February 24, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Islamic extremist militants from terrorist group Boko Haram on Friday night (Feb. 21) destroyed three worship sites and an unspecified number of houses in northeast Nigeria, sources said.

Thousands of people were displaced as the militants set three church buildings and the houses on fire in predominantly Christian Garkida, in Adamawa state’s Gombi County, area residents told Morning Star News.

“Please, pray for Christians in Garkida, Gombi LGA and its environs, that God will take control over the current situation they’re faced with,” one resident told Morning Star News by text message during the attack, which local sources said lasted from 7 p.m. until midnight.

The charred buildings belonged to the Church of the Brethren (EYN), the Anglican Church and the Living Faith Church, area resident Watirahyel Mshelia said.

“The Boko Haram insurgents were in hundreds and came into the town in nine trucks, while some rode on 50 motorcycles,” Mshelia told Morning Star News.

Another area resident, Manasseh Allen, said in a text message during the attack, “Our people in Garkida are right now running for their lives as Boko Haram carries out attacks on the community.”

Allen said reports about an impending attack by Boko Haram reached Christians in the town at about 1 p.m. on Friday, but that Nigerian armed forces took no proactive steps to protect them.

“In spite of all the local intelligence reports on the afternoon of Friday, after the terrorists were sighted around Kwarangulum in Chibok Local Government Area, which is close to Garkida, no effort was made by soldiers stationed in the area to preempt the attack,” Allen said. “I feel very sad about this.”

The attack broke up a meeting of EYN congregation’s Christian Women’s Fellowship, said another resident of Garkida, Yohanna Sunday.

Local media reported that the militants abducted an unspecified number of Christians. The number of casualties was unknown as many people had left town prior to the raid, though a military spokesman reportedly said one soldier had been killed and another wounded. The few remaining residents were said to have fled into hiding in the surrounding bushes upon sighting the Boko Haram invaders.

Adamawa Police spokesman Suleiman Nguroje confirmed the attack in a text message to Morning Star News.

“We have received a report that there is an attack in Garkida, and we’ve mobilized personnel to the area,” Nguroje said.

Residents told Nigerian newspaper the Daily Trust that the assailants first attacked a military checkpoint on Friday before razing public and private buildings in Garkida. Saying the attackers held the town for hours, ransacking and looting buildings, a local resident told the newspaper that the insurgents overpowered police and vigilante defenders before burning a police station, police barracks, church buildings, a hospital and a health center and the homes of two local officials.

The military had restored order and was patrolling the streets on Saturday (Feb. 22), a resident told the newspaper. The Daily Trust cited a security source as saying Boko Haram rebels, which seek to impose sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria, acted unchallenged for hours despite the presence of soldiers in the town during the siege.

A resident told another Nigerian news outlet that Nigerian army soldiers engaged the Boko Haram rebels in gun battle but then pulled back for reinforcements, during which time the insurgents inflicted most of the damage. The terrorists reportedly advanced to neighboring towns after soldiers returned and drove them out.

Nigeria ranked 12^th on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution but second in the number of Christians killed for their faith, behind Pakistan.

Mass Revival Breaks out across Tennessee: 'The Holy Spirit Came and Took Control'

Some 1,000 churches in Tennessee are joining together for prayer and fasting as part of Awaken Tennessee, a 30-day prayer event.

Awaken Tennessee kicked off Jan. 26 and runs through Feb. 23.

According to CBN News, 220 churches in East Tennessee are joining in the event. Another 800 from central and west Tennessee have also committed to the month of prayer.

Pastors in Tennessee say the event has already generated interest in the community with revival services happening all over the city. CBN News reports that the pastors say visitors attending the services have said they can "feel the Holy Spirit as soon as you enter the building.”

“This is not about my church or a denomination, we are simply hosting an event in partnership with churches to see true lasting revival take place,” said Rev. John Butler, pastor of East Rogersville Baptist Church.

“The Holy Spirit came and took control,” he said. “From the first worship song, people began to flood the altar for prayer, and continued to do so for restoration and to receive Christ. We haven’t manipulated our people. They came expectant and God simply showed up.”

The revival has been described as “exploding” in Tennessee.

"This rally is not about our church or any particular denomination, but it is our effort to join the concentrated prayer effort across the state for true revival in our churches that precipitates an awakening in our communities, state, and nation," Sheldon Livesay, the East Tennessee coordinator for Awaken Tennessee told the Rogersville Review. "There are exponential results as you bring multiplied groups together to pray."

To kick off the monthlong event, Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter Terry and Barbi Franklin led worship services in Rogersville. Former members of the Gaither Vocal Band have since also been invited to lead worship services.

“We’ve been praying for this kind of outpouring in our own nation for many years,” they said. “We’ve been longing to see America’s churches become houses of prayer again and revived in their first love for Jesus.”