Where We Work : Southern Sudan : Agriculture & Food Security

BRAC launched an innovative pilot project in 2008 on the banks of the Nile River near Juba – an eight-acre collective demonstration farm using modern agriculture methods where the produce of 27 participating local farmers went to their cooperative. Its success led to an expansion in 2009 to four states and a broadening of the initiative to include individual demonstration farmers as well as general farmers.

The programme is our response to Southern Sudan’s food crisis. More than 70% of Southern Sudanese are engaged in agricultural activities for their livelihoods and yet most food produce is imported from neighbouring countries.

The objectives of the agriculture programme are to increase food security, employment and income generation; and ensure the utilisation of fallow land, the diversification of cropping patterns; introduction of modern technology and the use of organic pesticide, Integrated Pest Management, manure, etc.

Programme Description

The agriculture programme addresses the problems of poor crop productivity, lack of resources and large areas of fallow land in post-conflict Southern Sudan. We are evaluating three approaches to see which is the most effective: collective demonstration farms, individual demonstration farms, and support for general farmers.

Collective Demonstration Farms

BRAC established four collective demonstration farms, each on 10 acres of land. Twenty local farmers were selected from the community to work on each demonstration plot. They are split into two groups of 10 farmers and come every day to work the farm. All the produce from the farm goes to the farmers' cooperative. BRAC coordinated developing the land, providing a water pump so the farmers can produce crops during the dry period, and giving technical support with the help of local government officials. By seeing better results from improved seeds and effective agricultural tools, we hope other farmers will be encouraged to cultivate production on their fallow land.

Individual Demonstration Farms

Due to 20 years of internal conflict and civil war in Southern Sudan, huge areas of land were left fallow. When farmers returned they lacked the resources to get restarted. BRAC launched demonstration projects in four states to encourage crop cultivation on fallow land. We created 200 crop demonstrations with the individual farmers of the communities. Land size for each demonstration is one acre. BRAC provides improved seeds, tools, training and also technical support. The focus is on cultivation of high-yielding crops, such as maize, sorghum and vegetables.

General Farmers

General farmers grow crops on small holdings near their homes. Generally the land size is a half acre or less. They cultivate sorghum, sesame, ground nut, vegetables, etc. with seeds provided by BRAC. We also provide training and tools. The total number of general farmers is 400 - 100 from each state. BRAC also provided seeds and technical support to other farmers for proper utilisation of homestead land. These farmers cultivated sesame and ground nuts as well as vegetables on a small piece of land less than half an acre. In 2009 the total number of these farmers was 2,646: 660 in Juba, 668 in Torit, 958 in Bor and 360 in Yambio County.

Agriculture Entrepreneurs/Extension Workers and Programme Organisers

BRAC appointed 52 agriculture entrepreneurs/extension workers and eight Programme Organisers in the four demonstration locations to provide support to the selected farmers. They coordinate programme implementation at the area office level, organise training for farmers, ensure timely input supply to farmers, and also conduct overall programme supervision. The agriculture entrepreneurs/extension workers received 12-day advanced training in modern agricultural practices. They received seeds and tools from BRAC for their own cultivation. The Programme Organisers also received training in agricultural practices.