The Unity Enriching Rural South Sudanese Women

By Waure Eddy

Poverty kept biting hard, and to free themselves from its grip, a group of rural South Sudan women, and peasant farmers at that, sought to knit together and trudge forward.

“Laugh” is the word they coined for their unity and in the local Azande word, indigenous to these people, it translates as “Animomu.”

Basically, Animomu Women Farmers Group focuses on ensuring women become self-reliant.

While farming is the engine that drives them, the aim of the group is to ensure collective efforts in combatting poverty, its chairperson, Apai Suzan Baptist told The Dawn.

According to Apai, when rural women focus on working together, they can become self-reliant through sustainable agribusiness.

Established in 2021 with the goal of promoting sustainable agriculture by adopting modern and climate-smart farming practices with just 20 members, the group has grown to a vibrant network of 70 members, including 63 women and 7 men.

Members are trained in agribusiness management, financial literacy, and given access to farming tools, seeds, and microloans.

Through these efforts, the group seeks to improve household food security, create income opportunities, and enable market access for agricultural production.

They hold a financial discipline which demands each member contributes as little as 500 South Sudanese Pounds weekly.

“By the end of the month, our group can raise up to 1,050,000 SSP,” Apai said.

“Since we started our group, things have been going on well, especially with peace in the State and South Sudan at large,” she said.

Apai said over 4 million SSP raised by the group have been used for buying agriculture equipment.

“With the items we have currently we believe it’s going to help a lot especially our pigs, garden and coffee in the future to come,” Apai said.

“So far, we are managing three hectares of farmland, including two hectares of coffee, a fish production unit, and 12 pigs.”

Such groups in more organized units are called cooperatives. China is a country which promotes cooperatives among rural people. The Chinese government is encouraging such cooperatives by providing subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery.

According to a World Bank excerpt, deriving from Chinese experience, organizing small-scale farmers into cooperatives can increase agricultural productivity and improve the marketability of their products. “As a result of greater scale and better organization in the cooperatives, products are standardized, production quality and quantity increase, and there is greater access to market information and services, better bargaining power, and reduced overhead expenses,” it said.

Before Rose Nawiso Martin grouped up with fellow women in the Animomu Women group, she struggled with very meagre resources got in vegetable vending.

“Through the group’s savings and training, I was able to expand my farming and now supply produce to nearby markets.” Nawiso said. “I’ve also started a small food stall with the extra income.”

Nawiso prays for peace to continue prevailing so that it gives them time to develop her livelihood.

“I’m taking care of my 4 siblings and family because of this group,” she said. “And I hope the peace is maintained so that we can do more.”

Lucy Naboro Mathew, for her part said she has reduced reliance on her husband since joining the group. “I used to depend on my husband for everything. Now, through this group, I earn my own money,” Naboro said. “I’ve also learned to budget, save, and even take small loans for my children’s education.”

“Being in a group is very important I have developed my own business faster through this group, we are eating well and my 3 children are attending school well.” He said.

Working together in groups helps people achieve limits they would not have reached on their own, most group members agreed.

According to Rhoda Tadeo Maku, the days when food was scarce in her house is long gone. “Our family used to struggle with one meal a day. Now, I grow vegetables in my garden and contribute to the group’s farm. We eat better, and I sell the surplus to neighbors,” Maku said.

John Dagbayo George, a male member noted how fruitful it was to work with the women and learn from them. “As one of the few men in the group, I’ve learned a lot about modern farming,” Dagbayo said. “The skills I’ve gained have helped me improve my own farm and support other people in the community.”