South Sudan Partnership: Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology
A Learning Hub in Bor
Like our collaboration with the University of Juba, our partnership with Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology in Bor, South Sudan, has its roots in Uganda. Agriculture sector professionals from Dr. Garang University were among those who participated in a 2021 virtual training program organized by EWS-KT in West Nile, Uganda, as part of a project to increase local horticultural capacity in the Horn of Africa.
Our work in 2022 with the University of Juba to establish a university-based learning farm for training students, farmers, and other stakeholders stood as a model for Dr. Garang University. In 2023, the Juba learning farm was replicated on the university grounds in Bor in collaboration with a university staff member who had participated in the West Nile training.
The learning farm demonstrates effective horticultural techniques for a variety of crops. This valuable resource enables Dr. Garang University to provide practical training to agriculture students and showcases the potential of vegetable production to smallholder farmers in the area. Over 300 students and 10 academic staff currently use the farm as a learning tool.
“Transforming agriculture education in conflict regions in Africa like South Sudan is a necessary requirement for ensuring food security, poverty reduction strategies with an ultimate aim of achieving prosperity and economic development in Africa,” wrote the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abraham Matoc Dhal, in an article published in January 2024—and the learning farm will continue to play a part in that transformation.
Community Outreach
In October 2023, we solidified our partnership with Dr. Garang University through a memorandum of understanding to extend our work to farmers and communities in the Bor area. In line with the MOU, we began sharing improved techniques directly with community members in the last two months of the year.
In addition to working with individual farmers in Bor, our trainer is facilitating community outreach by working with established groups and institutions. In the final months of 2023, with the trainer’s guidance, two 20-member youth groups set up commercial vegetable farms focusing on watermelon, cucumber, tomato, and okra, all utilizing good agricultural practices.
To contribute to the pipeline of future farmers, in 2024 we established a demonstration site at a secondary school, equipping the students with practical vegetable production skills while encouraging them to pursue agricultural studies at the university level.
To accelerate the spread of agricultural innovations within the community, we also began to work with students from Jonglei Health Sciences Institute in Bor, teaching these future midwives and health clinicians how to grow nutritious vegetables for better community health.
Our collaboration with Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology is enabling students and farmers in the Bor region to benefit from new skills and knowledge in vegetable farming, enhancing livelihood opportunities and contributing to greater availability of vegetables for consumers.
