Postcard from South Sudan: All change in the world's newest country

11 January 2013

Photo: Lona planted her field of cassava using techniques Farm Africa taught her

By Rachel Beckett

Driving out of Juba the changes that have taken place since my last visit shortly after independence in July 2012 quickly became apparent. First and foremost the bumpy mud road is now tarmac and mine clearance teams are busy at work on the roadside.

However, what was more striking was the change I saw when we left the tarmac and headed into the rural villages in Lobonok payam, where Farm Africa has been helping farmers to grow cassava.

I spent the morning with Lona, David and Peter – three equally determined farmers struggling to provide for their families. For them, erratic and sparse rainfall combined with outbreaks of pests and plant diseases makes farming their land a game of chance. Hard work and a determination to succeed are in no way linked to a healthy harvest and food for their children.

Hopeful

They are hopeful that this will change as they have recently joined our project helping farmers to grow cassava. It’s a starchy tuber – a little like a potato or yam but much larger – which thrives in dry conditions and is of no interest to the plagues of locusts that have decimated their sorghum crop in the past.

They are right to feel confident – they need only meet Santino who lives in a neighbouring village. We started working with Santino in 2011. Back then, life was desperate: he could barely provide enough food to feed his family one meal a day and often they had nothing more than stewed pumpkin leaves to eat. Like most farmers living in the area he was reliant on the sorghum that he grew, and was frequently left destitute when locusts destroyed his crops.

I visited Santino the same afternoon – he was eager to tell me about the cassava he was now growing thanks to Farm Africa. As is often the case when I meet farmers that we work with, I asked him how life had changed for the family since becoming involved with Farm Africa. He looked at me a little confused and said: “Can you not see? We are healthy and well dressed!” For his family that was real change, a permanent change and a change I was delighted to see.

- Rachel is our head of direct marketing

Read more about our work in South Sudan

Find out more about our cassava project