A senior army officer Johnson Mayen has made his life ‘sweeter’ by cultivating fruits on his 5-acre land in Jonglei.
Brigadier General Johnson Mayen, 58, has defied all odds and succeeded in agriculture.
In an interview with Radio Tamazuj, Mayen said he had to venture into fruit and vegetable farming to avert the hunger in South Sudan.
A teacher by profession, Mayen said he started farming in 1980.
“I established this farm in 1980. But three years later, war disrupted it. So, I stayed away for 21 years as I joined the rebellion,” he narrated.
In 2008, three years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Africa’s long civil war, Mayen said he resumed working on the farm, despite being a senior army officer.
“Following the 2005 peace deal, I returned home. As a general, I had to continue serving in the military and agriculture,” said Mayen.
“I had been in so many developed countries. They developed because of agriculture. Britain and America are great because of farming. So, this motivated me,” he added.
Today, he is a proud owner of a 5-feddan fruit and vegetable farm with mangoes, guava, oranges, lemons as well as pawpaw.
The farm is located along the Nile River in Arek, an area located about 7 kilometers north of Bor, the capital of Jonglei State.
“The size of this farm is five feddan. It keeps expanding everyday. Now, there are 1,500 trees of mangoes, oranges, lemons, guava and pawpaw. I also grow varieties of vegetables,” he said.
At some point, Mayen recalled, there was superstition in his community that a fruit farmer dies before harvesting fruits, but this did not water down the determination he had in farming.
A father of 10, the senior military officer says he is currently able to earn 10,000 SSP monthly, which is higher than his salary in the army.
“Money from the sales of fruits and vegetables is enough to cater for my family needs. I do not worry about salary. I pay my children’s school fees and the rest of money meets other expenses,” said Mayen.
“If peace returns, many people will come back home, sales will increase, farmers will get a lot of cash and save in banks,” he added.
The army officer urged the youth to practice agriculture. “If young people went into farming, poverty would not exist in this country. I have eradicated poverty in my family and I want fellow South Sudanese to do the same. My farm employs many people. Young people should create jobs for themselves by land tilting,” he said.
Mayen has also faced numerous challenges in his farming business.
“When herders see your green farm, they graze their cattle in it. This creates problems. We also lack pesticides and importing them requires Unite States dollars,” he said.
Mayen urged the government to provide loans, subsidize agricultural inputs and provide security in remote areas to attract the youth.
He appealed to citizens to desist from depending on relief food, saying South Sudan can be the region’s food basket if land is utilized.
Despite the huge agricultural potential South Sudan possesses, only about 5 percent of the country’s arable land is reportedly cultivated.