Martine’s Journey: Transforming Agriculture in South Sudan on International Day of Cooperatives

As we celebrate this year’s International Cooperatives Day on 6^th of July, Martine’s journey illustrates how the South Sudan Jobs Creation and Trade Development project financed by the EU Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), has significantly improved agricultural cultivation in his region.

Building Stronger Communities Through Cooperatives in South Sudan

From December 2021 to August 2023, farmers in several locations were sensitized on the importance of forming producers’ groups to collaborate on production-related activities and to better manage their supply capacity and challenges they face. In collaboration with National and State Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry, the International Trade Centre supported and facilitated the establishment of 22 fruit and vegetable producer cooperatives of which 7 were officially registered with the State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. 

At the time of the establishment, these cooperatives had a total membership of 894 members. Cooperative members received support in selecting executive leaders and developing bylaws and constitutions. This enabled 7 of the cooperatives to register at the Directorate of Cooperative Development in the State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Additionally, capacity building training on cooperative governance and management was organized for each cooperative. The training was attended by 838 fruit and vegetable producers (392 female and 446 male) drawn from different cooperative groups across 8 locations.

Martine Ismail, chairperson of the Noduru Vegetable cooperative shares his thoughts on the new opportunities to cultivate land in his region in a video published on Facebook by the ITC: 

“Before this project, we were cultivating our farmlands manually, but with the provision this tractor we have already cleared a large piece of land in just one day, that would have otherwise taken us one to two weeks to cultivate”. 

“We hope this will generate income to sustain our families and boost our production”, he added.

Click here to see the video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/kfaqoF5KNqjX5Upa/?mibextid=WC7FNe

More on the Project

The “Jobs Creation and Trade Development”project has been implemented in South Sudan by the International Trade Centre since September 2020, funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa.  The projects objectives are improving the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and increasing employment opportunities for the South Sudanese labour force, with a focus on youth and women. It aims to provide an integrated and holistic assistance for the development of small businesses in the fruits and vegetables value chain, ultimately improving the livelihoods of targeted South Sudanese populations through the creation of jobs and income.