Research and technology options for increasing crop yields and

enhancing soil fertility

By

A.L. Abate

University of Juba

South Sudan Eco-Zones

Potentially arable land 195,000 km2 (30%)

Grazing land 260,000 km2 (40%)

Heavily forested 146,000 km2 (23%)

Swamps & water 45,000 km2 (7%) surfaces

South Sudan Eco-zones & Human Activities

Arid Belt Gum collection and marketing

Green Belt Agriculture e.g. tea, palm oil, food crops

Flood plains Mainly cattle keeping; some agriculture

Hills & Mountains Mixed agriculture

Ironstone Plateau Predominantly agriculture with livestock

Nile/Sobat corridor Cattle and fish

Consequences of two Wars on South Sudan Agriculture

• Loss of germ plasm

• Loss of farming skills

• Loss of interest in farming

• Development of alternative sources of livelihood

Recent statistics

More than 80% of cereal production grown by traditional methods

90% of agricultural production is rain fed

Crop failures are common

Overall, very low crop yields between 10 to 30 % in Eastern Equatoria between 1 to 10 bags of 50 kg maize per acre in parts of

Western Equatoria

Total lack of quality seeds

Flooding prevents planting in Northern Bahr el Ghazal

Performance indicators of South Sudan agriculture

Parameter South Sudan Kenya Uganda

Rural share of population, % 99.9? 67 86

Arable land of land area, % 30.0 7.0 25.7

Arable land per capita, ha 6.4 0.14 0.24

Irrigated land of cropland, % ? 1.5 0.1

Fertilizer use, 100g ha-1 of arable 0 346 6.0 land

RESEARCH OPTIONS FOR SOUTH SUDAN

Action Research

On-farm trials

Demand-driven Research

Applied Research

Adaptive Research

INTERVENTIONS FOR INCREASING YEILDS - a Intercropping

Crop rotation – seasonal or annual

Use of cover crops

Reduced tillage – minimum tillage

Composting

Organic matter additions

INTERVENTIONS FOR INCREASING YEILDS - b

Provide agricultural inputs

Provide better agricultural practices

Form farmer cooperatives

Initiate farmer cooperatives

INTERVENTIONS FOR INCREASING YEILDS - c

Improve road infrastructure

Emphasize applied agricultural research

Develop a suitable extension service

Encourage FDI

Thank you for listening