FARM-Africa is one of the partners we are working with in Africa. In 2006 we supported the final stages of their work in Northern Tanzania, helping 260 farmers to access seed and improve their skills at growing fruit and vegetables. The results were very encouraging, (and you can read more about them here), so in 2007 we agreed to fund a second project of theirs, this time in Southern Sudan.

While over 90% of the land is suitable for farming in this area, more than twenty years of civil war have had a devastating effect, and the hundreds of thousands who fled are now returning with nothing. We are supporting FARM-Africa's partnership with farmers and herders, training them in practices that enable them to get the best from their land, and so rebuild their lives.

We are particularly glad to be funding this, since, as ActionAid points out, not many funders are willing to fund start-up projects in post-conflict situations. The foundation's willingness to take a risk has got this work off the ground and is having a real impact.

FARM-Africa aims to reduce poverty by enabling marginal African farmers and herders to improve the sustainable management of their renewable natural resources.

The organisation works in partnership with communities, governments, local organisations, international NGOs and the private sector to develop strong rural livelihoods and then share the results of their work with others for it to have maximum impact in Eastern and Southern Africa.

FARM-Africa began working in Southern Sudan in 2005 after the signing of the Naivasha Peace Accord. The accord provides for a high degree of autonomy for the south for six years, after which a referendum on independence will be held.

We have agreed four years of funding to support FARM-Africa's Southern Sudan Livelihoods Recoveryand Development Project which began early in 2007. Working in Gogrial West County in Warrap state, the aim is to reach a total of 15,340 vulnerable households, 92,340 people, by the end of 2010.

Theproject will see farming families gain immediate nutritional benefits, through initiatives such as goat credit, the provision of seeds, tools, fruit trees and water points and training in innovative farming techniques. Families can begin to build up livelihoods and assets with a view to feeding their families and ending their reliance on food aid.

Project activities will also enable FARM-Africa to develop relationships with farmers, government extension staff, and local organisations that will be essential for longer-term development in the area.

Objectives Update - July '07

FARM-Africa established a small head office in the Southern Sudan capital of Juba, and uses a Mobile Outreach Camp approach to deliver project activities with staff living and working closely with communities.

So far this year, the project has meant that:

• Seeds and tools have been distributed to almost 1500 households - including sorghum (cereal), groundnuts, tomato, okra, kale, eggplant, maize, onions, sesame, pumpkin, beans and peas.
• 800 mango, guava and orange trees have been distributed and planted.
• After training 33 people in ox plough techniques, they returned to their districts and trained a total of 128 teams of oxen. This enables communities to cultivate land much more quickly.
• 50,000 animals have been vaccinated.
• Working with SUPRAID, FARM-Africa has drilled five boreholes. Each one provides water to meet the daily domestic, livestock and homestead needs of 300 households. It is also working to renovate broken boreholes and train people on how to dig shallow wells.

Other components of the project include targeting female-headed households to receive goats on a credit basis, forming Farmers' Research Extension Groups to trial new farming techniques and identifying and training Community Animal Health Workers.

Objectives Update: Spring 2010

Our support for FARM-Africa’s work in Southern Sudan completed in April 2010, this update confirms the activity that happened in 2009.

2009 was an exciting but challenging year for the FARM-Africa project in Southern Sudan. Traditionally the long rainy season in Sudan has run from around May/June – September, but in 2009 the onset of rains was later than expected and this had a significant effect on most farmers who had planted their seeds in anticipation of the rain. This had some effect on the farmers groups and seed recipients, but by supporting them to diversify their livelihoods by planting a range of crops, the impact was mitigated. The increasing unpredictability of the weather continues to be a major obstacle for farmers in our project area.

The political situation in this project area was calm throughout 2009. However there are increasing tensions across Southern Sudan as the country heads towards the referendum on unity or independence scheduled for January 2011. The majority of the conflicts are in Jonglei in the south east of Southern Sudan, with many being tribal-based and exacerbated by below-normal water levels, below-normal pasture conditions, and reduced access to fish.

Despite these challenges there was plenty of progress to celebrate in 2009:

• Seeds and tools were distributed to 2,290 vulnerable households in Gogrial West and Aweil South counties, with returnees and internally displaced people particularly targeted. The seeds distributed were groundnuts, sorghum, okra, cowpeas, water melon, pumpkin and tomato.
  
• In 2009 FARM-Africa procured fruit trees from Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute in Uganda, including oranges (Washington naval, Sweet Valencia), guavas and mangoes. The project worked with three schools in Gogrial West, and one in Aweil South, targeting pupils in years 5, 6 and 7. The pupils received training on the importance of fruit trees, ways of planting, protection, manuring, mulching and pest control. Fruit trees were also distributed to village development committees, women’s groups, and farmers groups, and the total number of beneficiaries was 2,384.
  
• • The farmers' groups continue to be successful, and in 2009 two new groups were set up. One of the new groups, in Hongwek Dit in Aweil South, was a women’s group. The groups were trained in participatory planning for crop production. FARM-Africa staff worked with the groups to help them decide which crops to produce, the schedule for these, what resources are necessary and available for production, how it will be produced, and where to buy inputs and sell produce.
  
• • Two new boreholes were drilled and the existing boreholes were maintained and repaired wherever necessary. In the latter part of 2009, a further 21 people were trained as pump mechanics so that they will be able to maintain the boreholes in their areas.
  
• • FARM-Africa funded a community development officer and there were a great number of workshops and training sessions in 2009, aimed at helping to improve the lives of the members of these communities. These covered areas such as HIV/AIDS awareness, access to clean water, the importance of good leadership, and gender equality. There were three women’s groups identified during 2009. These groups will focus on generating income through farm activities, such as seasonal vegetables, and also establishing a tea shop and food sales business. A grinding machine for groundnuts was procured by FARM-Africa for Hong Wekdit women’s group. The group members contributed land and mobilised resources to construct a shelter for the grinding mill in Malek Alel market. This will increase the group’s income and reduce the time taken grinding groundnuts as the traditional method used a piece of wood or a bottle.

Local tools and ox ploughs

The most limiting facor for most farmers in Gogrial West County is due to the type of tools available. The most common used in the area is called a maloda, requires a farmer to kneel on the ground, and takes approximately five hours to work between 20m² - 50m². Using a well trained pair of oxen and a mould board plough however, three farmers can cultivate half an acre of land (2,023 m²) in just two hours.

A previous attempt to introduce ox plough techniques into this region by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) was initially resisted by local farmers. Oxen are so prized, that people were unwilling to harness them for agricutltural purposes. However now that the benefits have been demonstrated, farmers are growing much more enthusiastic.

Mr. Valentino Akot's experience

Mr. Akot is a farmer who lives in Ajong village in Gogrial West County and participated in FARM-Africa's ox-plough training. He was more than keen, and his bulls were the first to be trained. He put this into practice immediately and within a week managed to cultivate his field of five acres.

This is what Mr. Akot had to say about ox-ploughing:

'Last year I was in the field from May to October, because by the time I finished planting my small field of sorghum, the weeds had grown taller than the crops; and by the time I finished weeding, the early sorghum was ready for harvesting. I planted very few groundnuts because of this problem. This year I was among the first to start planting sorghum and also the first to finish cultivation in my small village, because of the ox plough FARM-Africa gave me. This size of field would take one to two months for my family to cultivate and another month for weeding.

I later used my plough to rent out at 45 Sudanese Pounds (£11) per day and the money I got was used to employ seven people to do weeding for 15 days. See, now I have the best sorghum (5 acres), enough/healthy groundnuts and sesame from which I am expecting the best yield ever.

This has given me free time to work in the grinding mill to get extra money to add on to the one for renting my plough, for harvesting the crops and also helping my family and relatives. I get 150 Sudanese pounds (£37.50) from the milling business. This is very small amount compared to the money I was getting from renting out my plough, but I want to keep my plough for next year because the share will get finished and getting the spares is difficult.'

Aluet and the Groundnuts

Aluet Angar, her husband and their six children returned to the project area from Khartoum where they fled during the civil war. Since returning to Gogrial, Aluet and her family were dependant on food aid as the sorghum they planted did not produce enough to feed them all. Aluet joined one of FARM-Africa’s Farmers Groups and learnt about growing groundnuts, comparing the production of local Barabith groundnut varieties with improved serenut II varieties from Uganda. The group also learnt about different pests and diseases, and how to use the leaves of the plant as an indicator of their health. Aluet and her group found that the serenut II variety has more pods (containing the seed/peanut) than the traditional variety.

Aluet harvested 11 sacks of groundnuts (11kg) from just one feddan (4,200m²), and is confident that she will produce even more in the next growing season. As well as learning better crop management techniques, Aluet says she has also gained confidence to talk in meetings and is now able to effectively communicate with others in the area. Her husband now joins her in farming activities as he has seen the income-generation possibilities, rather than looking for work away from the homestead as he did previously. The family hope to use earning from selling surplus produce to buy some goats, so that they can use their manure to fertilise the land and further increase their yields.

Aluet says:
“Before I experienced periods of food shortage and was dependant on food aid always. I am now confident that income that used to be a gamble will in the near future be history in my household. My income from agriculture is more secure. I am happy FARM-Africa has kick started me to prosperity”.

www.farmafrica.org.uk

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