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