Mark Brian Henderson, Food Security Programme Manager, talks to us about his experiences in South Sudan.

Southern Sudan is a country mired in uncertainty. After 20 years of civil war a cease fire was agreed upon in 2005 that brought an end to years of fighting that caused mass underdevelopment in health, education, agriculture, lack of infrastructure and, in some areas, limited access to markets.  In spite of the cease fire still holding, instability still exists in areas, which has affected livelihoods and led to the displacement of people.  Areas of the country are also severely affected by yearly flooding which destroys crops and displaces people.

South Sudan has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world.  Action Against Hunger is implementing programmes to combat the underlying causes of malnutrition through health education, food security, water and sanitation and nutrition activities. 

Making a difference in Sudan

It’s been over a year since Mark Henderson joined Action Against Hunger as a Food Security Programme Manager based in South Sudan and Kenya.

As Food Security Programme Manager, Mark has been in charge of the overall management of the food security projects, which included the introduction of new crops and vegetables to diversify farming, and supporting the local

fishing cooperative through the provision of training and input distribution. Mark spent much of last year across South Sudan in Toch (Old Fangak county), Jonglei state, Malakal and the Upper Nile State.                                                                                   River transport

“Toch is an incredibly remote area which can only be reached by plane since the area is very swampy. There is river transport but when I was there, it was quite insecure along the river.  We had a compound there, which essentially comprised of mud huts and tents.” Mark recounts. “Communication was very limited and all supplies were brought by plane. In the rainy season this was restrict though since planes cannot land on wet mud airstrips. Being in such a situation teaches you to be patient and work independently.”

Mark's hut

Fighting Food Shortage in South Sudan by Planting Rice

Mark counts the rice growing pilot project he helped manage last year:

“Action Against Hunger has served beneficiaries in the swampy upper Nile region of southern Sudan since 2001—one of Africa’s most underdeveloped areas. Its markets are poorly developed, it has few facilities for health or education, and its lack of infrastructure makes improving the region difficult. The areas we’ve served are inaccessible by road. You can fly there or you can walk there, but the only other transportation option is boating among the local villages. Few humanitarian organisations operate in the area.

Floods along the upper Nile during 2005 slashed the annual sorghum harvest—the principal local crop, in fact virtually the only crop—by more than 80%. Erratic rainfall and pest infestation in 2006 again reduced the crop by 28% from the usual harvest. These meager yields combined with limited livelihood opportunities, poor market access, and a diet lacking in diversity all contributed to serious food shortages and a rise in hunger. Fish are plentiful in the area, but by themselves they provide an incomplete and inadequate diet.

Rice to the Rescue

Our team decided to try introducing the community to rice, which can grow in swampy ground at any time of the year when sufficient water is present. A pilot project was launched in Toch where plentiful water could provide two harvests a year. This would potentially increase household cereal stocks and reduce annual community-wide hunger that can run from March (when stocks of sorghum are typically used up) to July (when the next sorghum crop is harvested).

Rice wasn’t totally foreign in Toch. It occasionally reached local markets as an import, but it was expensive and exotic, and village cooks weren’t sure what to do with it.

Preliminary Ploughing

Nonetheless, we found local farmers willing to participate in the project. In consultation with local chiefs and the southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, we chose 20 participants who were currently farmers, were willing to work as a group, were eager to try something new, and had no objections to sharing their experiences with other farmers. In the end, the number of participants varied during the project, but we always had enough laborers to make the experiment work.

                                                    Rice is ready for harvesting

We began by importing a rice specialist who helped train the volunteers in cultivation, covering such topics as land preparation, wetland management, paddy planting, irrigation, and construction of dikes (to keep sufficient water within the farmed acreage while also preventing floods from overwhelming the fields). Altogether we planted 48 different kinds of rice to determine which grew hardily and which were preferred as food among the villagers. Our team also held cooking demonstrations to show villagers how to prepare the rice, which they accepted without resistance.

A rice cooking demonstration

In addition, we organised an association of the participating farmers who wanted to continue farming rice in the future.

Based on the pilot project, we estimate that rice grown in the upper Nile region of southern Sudan will yield 280% more grain than sorghum harvests from similar acreage. This will not only feed the farmers and their families throughout the year but also provide excess to sell in local markets and increase the farmers’ incomes.

Our experiment was a success. Now we’re seeking other communities where the same solution will help solve chronic hunger.”

When to recount a stand out moment of the last year, Mark tells us that Christmas in the field in 40oC heat eating goat BBQ and pasta and drinking warm beer was a bit surreal.

Despite missing family and friends, Mark hopes to work again with Action Against Hunger in the field. We look forward to hearing more from him.

                                                ***ENDS***

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