Nuns Introduce New Farming Methods to over 25,000 Households in South Sudan

Better techniques, which the farmers have been taught include transplanting seedlings when propagating vegetables and planting sorghum in line to provide sufficient space among the crops.

To build the knowledge of deprived South Sudanese men and women farmers in new farming approaches, the Catholic organization has put in place a residential four-month course at the DMI campus in Juba where over 30 agricultural extension officers have been trained to attend to farmers’ needs.

“Some of those we have trained are now working with DMI and share their skills and knowledge with the farmers and others are right now in the communities,” the DMI Deputy Country Director told ACI Africa during the Wednesday, September 2 interview.

He added, in reference to the training offered by the nuns, “We have two different types of training. One is a credential-based kind of training for agriculture extension workers and the other type includes short-term workshops that we conduct repeatedly to be able to build the knowledge of farmers in improved farming methods.”

In recruiting agricultural extension workers, DMI officials go to the communities and bring those who did not proceed to university. These are enrolled for the training lasting three to four months.

On completion of the training, the extension workers return to their villages where they are allowed to practice the skills acquired under the observation of DMI officials who monitor them to ensure that they teach farmers improved farming methods learned in the course.

DMI has embarked on putting farmers into associations to enable them exchange knowledge and attain quality skills upon training, Mr. Sovula said, adding that the nuns are currently coordinating about 500 groups of farmers, each group accommodating an average of 30 members in Gogrial, Yirol and Central Equatoria states.

Other improved farming methods that the Religious Order teaches the farmers include crop spacing, water conservation, soil conservation, pests and disease control methods.

This way, Mr. Sovula told ACI Africa, the farmers are equipped with various ways of raising their own money.

The objective of DMI’s training is to make sure that young people, also included in the program, return with a positive attitude in supporting the farmers and to create demonstration farms in their communities for the farmers to see the difference between the scientific methods versus the traditional means used currently in the area.

According to Mr. Sovula, agricultural extension workers have been able to prove to the local farmers that employing the improved farming method will ensure productivity compared to the old method of farming.

“The impact of introducing new farming approaches is remarkable, because previously the farmers just relied on seeds from aid agencies but now, we have taught our farmers on best seed handling procedures so that they don’t look for seeds each planting season,” he said.

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“We are gradually building the seed bank with the farmers who we are working with. Before, farmers planted only once but now, they are able to plant two times in a year,” said Mr. Sovula.

DMI members involved in the project currently practice seed banking in which seeds are given to farmers on a rotational basis. After the harvest, each is demanded to return to the store the equivalent of seeds to be given to other farmers.

As South Sudan has favourable conditions for agriculture, with good weather and the average rainfall at about 22mm, there is a vast stretch of fertile land across the country, which, according to the DMI project official, should be used in planting “all types of seeds across the ocean, 10 varieties of bananas, papaya and guava among others.”

“When the farmers plant one type of crop all the time on the same plot of land, the nutrients get depleted and there is no ability to buy artificial fertilizers,” he said while advocating for intercropping.

“We always try to plant leguminous crops that add nitrogen into the soil and we intercrop with some other crops that have deep roots into the soil,” he said.

DMI’s agricultural activities in South Sudan are achieved in collaboration with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (UN-FAO), by providing seedlings and tools.

According to the DMI project official, FAO has something to learn from their new approaches in farming.

“We are now teaching our techniques to agencies like FAO, that here, even where farmers don’t have land, we can let them plant vegetables in their backyard,” Mr. Sovula told ACI Africa.