The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Corporation for International Cooperation), earlier this month, gave a farmers group in Magwi County and a farmers cooperative in Yei River County an irrigation pump each to boost their yields during the dry season.
The pumps are part of GIZ South Sudan’s Community-Driven Rural Development (CDRD) project and will enable the farmers to produce a variety of crops and vegetables all year round.
“With the installation of irrigation equipment, I am convinced that our group will be able to sufficiently boost the water supply for a better crop growth and an increased vegetable production,’’ said Oringa Youny James, the vice chairperson of Wang Acholi Vegetable Group in Eastern Equatoria State’s Magwi County, during the handover and testing of the pump on 4 March.
For his part, Festo Ade, the chairperson of Kembe Cooperative Group in Yei River County, said farmers are now expected to earn more with off-season vegetable production.
“The group plans to sell their harvest in the local markets, which will also make an important contribution to better food and nutrition security in the area,” he stated.
According to GIZ, to achieve sustainability, the activity is accompanied by long-term training, a maintenance concept for the irrigation pumps, and the provision of agricultural equipment, among other things. With the provided support, the recipients also reach out and newly engage especially young people and women to get interested in vegetable farming as a business.
The project “Community Driven Rural Development (CDRD)” is jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by GIZ in the framework of a four-year cooperation. The CDRD-project advocates for the development and amplification of high-yield, agroecological and climate-adapted agriculture and value chains to improve the living conditions and economic prospects of people in rural areas.
“Through targeted interventions, the project advises regional administrations and civil society actors on development planning processes with a focus on conflict prevention and gender equality. At the same time, it helps smallholder farmers, women, and young adults in rural areas as well as community-based agricultural organizations to gain better access to means of production, markets, and services in agriculture,” the GIZ statement said. “The CDRD-project has been implemented by GIZ since 2022 and has been upscaled thematically and geographically at the beginning of 2024 with the substantial co-funding from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”