Multi-Educational

The Multi-educational and Agricultural Jesuit Institute of South Sudan (MAJIS) is an initiative of the Jesuits Eastern Africa Province set up in 2010 to provide basic education and training in agriculture and animal husbandry for the people of Rumbek. MAJIS aims to become a regional and nationwide spearheading institution training, especially vulnerable poor people, basic agricultural skills.

The MAJIS’ rural livelihood diversification programme seeks to contribute to the achievement of United
Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number 1: ‘No poverty and Number 2: Zero hunger’ in
South Sudan. The programme addresses the problem of vulnerability faced by the local population, who are susceptible to food insecurity caused by both environmental factors (notably low rainfall and/or flooding) and insecurity as a result of inter or intra tribal conflicts. At the root of these vulnerability trends is extreme poverty and marginalization. According to the UN, most of the population of South Sudan live below the poverty line of one US dollar per day.

The farm has led to improved diet, minimized idling in the village, and created income-generating activities. For many of the beneficiaries, mostly elderly women and widows, the project has helped them to be self-reliant enough to support their families. Several children have gone to school thanks to the income raised by their parents from the sale of produce. MAJIS had a total of 560 direct and indirect beneficiaries (382 Women, 178 Men) with 113 widows participating in the program.

Activities/Projects Implemented
• Outreach program: in July 2018, MAJIS initiated an outreach program for vegetable production at Cuecok, a village neighbouring Akoljal. This initiative seeks to expand MAJIS activities to different villages, instead of people having to walk long distances to come to MAJIS. The following activities were carried out at Cuecok:
(i) Training for sustainable agriculture, (ii) development of demonstration plots, (iii), and plots for vegetable production for a group of 30 women.
• Vegetable Production: this project continues to offer hope to many women as a source of food and income-generating activity. Beneficiaries focus on the production of Sukuma wiki (kales), onions, eggplant, and local vegetables such as kudra, and okra. 70 women and 6 men benefited from this activity in 2018.
• Poultry project: this project was revamped, and as a result, 30 chickens were added to the previous stock, which had 46 chickens. The plan is to give two chickens, a cock, and a hen, to each of the 30 beneficiaries (all women), who will be required to pay back by offering a hen to MAJIS after six months. This arrangement will enable MAJIS to be self-sustainable and generate income for the farm and other beneficiaries.
• Food for Work: this is meant to support needy villagers to receive food items in exchange for labour at the farm. The food items distributed to 560 people include 140 bags of sorghum, 110 bags of beans, 500 litres of cooking oil, and 35 dozens of salt. The work done led to the expansion and clearance of the unused parts of the farm. The cleared areas were ploughed and cowpeas, groundnuts, maize, and beans planted in those areas. This has seen a big harvest for MAJIS and its beneficiaries.

• Land ploughing and planting: 22 acres were ploughed and planted with groundnuts, maize, cowpeas and beans. Most of the ploughing was done using oxen while the rest was tilled using hand-hoes. Five of the 22 acres of land cultivated were set aside for 20 vulnerable women (mostly widows and elderly) from the village.
• Production of compost manure: the area where the farm is located has sandy soil which poses a great challenge for vegetable production. To improve the quality of the soil, compost manure making for demonstration and beneficiaries’ plots has been maintained by the participants, who have all undergone training on making quality compost manure.
• Grains storage: Over 100 bags of groundnuts, and several bags of cowpeas, green grams and maize were harvested and stored in the barn. 76 households from the village also brought their grains to be kept in the MAJIS barn for storage and safety. MAJIS has a schedule, as agreed with the community, for collecting the produce to help them wisely manage their harvest.
• Literacy program: MAJIS runs a lower primary school for children that cannot walk to the nearest school which is 9 kilometres from the village. Currently, the literacy program at MAJIS has 176 pupils (71 girls, 105 boys).

Challenges
• Disarmament and insecurity: The government of South Sudan declared a state of emergency in November 2017 to facilitate the process of disarmament. The declaration, the process of disarmament, and the presence of many soldiers in the Lake State have contributed immensely to stability. However, this process has led to the reassignment of two soldiers who had been assigned to the farm because all police and 34 soldiers in the State are obliged to take part in the disarmament. Yet, for MAJIS, the presence of the police is critical in terms of assuring beneficiaries of the security and safety of the farm. The farm is currently guarded by unarmed security guards posing a challenge in case of an attack.
• Harsh climatic conditions and insufficient water: Harsh climatic conditions experienced between the months of January and May continue to pose a great challenge to crop production. During this season, only vegetable production can be sustained through watering from the hand-pump and the
solar powered borehole. The biggest challenge has been to balance between the high demand for limited water by the locals and the greater need for water use at the farm.

• Wild animals and birds: The dry spell affects not only crops but wild animals as well. During this season, the wild animals stream into the farm at night in search of water and greener pastures. Inside the farm, they eat any green crops they can find. Many beneficiaries’ plots have been destroyed by these animals. Much as there is a fence, there is an area fenced with barbed wire which does not deter wild animals from entering the farm. What is needed to completely deter these animals is wire mesh fence which is very costly to buy and setup. The other challenge is birds, which eat and destroy tomatoes as soon as they begin to ripen.
• Theft: In 2018, nine beehives were harvested at night by thieves. This has resulted in the beehives which were located in the bushy part of the farm being moved to a more secure part of the farm.
This has however brought bees near the plots where people are always working. The security men have, in response to the theft, tried to be vigilant particularly at night.
• Lack of oxen for ploughing: At the moment, MAJIS does not own an oxen for ploughing since the one that was there before was stolen. Since then the farm management has avoided keeping oxen
for fear of attacks and cattle raids that are quite common in Rumbek. As a result, oxen are hired from
the village whenever there is need. However, these oxen are only available for hire after the villagers
have ploughed their own farms. This arrangement delays ploughing time resulting in low harvest.