The Power of Knowledge: How Charles Malice Turned Loss into Resilience

CENTRAL EQUATORIA STATE, SOUTH SUDAN – When a devasting heat wave struck Juba County, 35-year-old farmer Charles Malice saw both his livelihood and his educational future disappearing before his eyes.

The extreme heat wiped out most of his crops, including short-term vegetables like jute mallow, cucumber, and okra, and left him wondering how he would pay his workers or continue his final year of studies at the University of Juba. Farming had suddenly become a source of financial stress, not growth.

One evening, depressed by the failure of his fields, Charles noticed something remarkable nearby: a tomato field thriving despite the persistent heat. Curious, he stopped to talk to the farmer, who willingly shared his heat management secrets and invited Charles to an on-farm training session organized by East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT).

Attending the training was a pivotal moment for Charles. Over the course of several training sessions at his neighbor’s farm, he gained crucial knowledge on improved crop management and resilient farming practices, including heat management techniques like choosing drought-tolerant varieties, timely planting, and efficient soil and water conservation practices.

Inspired, he applied these techniques to new tomato and cucumber fields.

The results were more than promising. From his cucumber field alone, he earned the equivalent of US$740 after expenses, a 322% return on investment. His yields were far better than anything he had previously experienced. “When I saw the results, I realized that knowledge is wealth,” he said.

Today, Charles has fully recovered from his heat-related crop failure, regaining financial stability. He has also expanded his production area to nearly an acre, cultivating various vegetable crops using the improved technologies and sustainable practices he learned through the training.

What began as a moment of despair turned into a journey of growth, financial resilience, and renewed hope, giving Charles the tools to adapt to future farming challenges.