“Let us Join Hands to Develop Our Beautiful South Sudan”, Says Mr. Paul Kirima, a farmer from Western Equatoria
“Let us Join Hands to Develop Our Beautiful South Sudan”, Says Mr. Paul Kirima, a farmer from Western Equatoria
As the planting season draws near in Western Equatoria State, Mr. Paul Kirima one of the farmers has urged the people of WE to join hands to develop South Sudan, “let us join hands to develop our beautiful South Sudan, those who practice politics, Soldiers, Doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, business people, and us farmers let us love our Country South Sudan and WES and our ten Counties. Let us join our talents and skills to develop ourselves. South Sudan and WES are enough to accommodate all of us with our diversities”.
In his message shared through WhatsApp, Kirima shared some prerequisites for the success of farming;
MISTAKES FARMERS MAKE
- Poor Soil Management
Any Successful farmer will testify to the fact good soil guarantees a healthy beginning from planting to harvest. Therefore, it is important for farmers to understand that farming in poor soil is a recipe for failure and an invitation to a number of complications.
Many vegetables especially Cabbage, Capsicum (green paper), Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and the exotic types are heavy feeders, and other cereals crops will require plenty of manure/ fertile soil in order to grow as expected. As such, it is very important to carry out soil tests before planting anything. For our case in WES where soil testing is not so much put into consideration due to lack of equipment, you need to follow the history of the soil and which crop was planted in that area before.
- Purchasing Poor Quality Seeds
Another top mistake new farmers make in farming is the planting of poor-quality seeds. The truth is that poor seeds may not grow well or grow at all, some will become stunted (Ngbiimi) if they manage to germinate while others may not produce healthy produce at all. Some produce scanty fruits.
Planting of traditional seeds is gradually fading away and improved seeds are coming up. It is advisable that Farmers generally, should go for producing their own seed as our ministry of agriculture at the national and state level is advocating for. In other countries, farmers go for hybrid seeds. This is because they have good yield and it is resistant to various adversity environment.
- Poor Water Management
Just as you need water to survive, plants also need water too in order to grow healthier. If you are inconsistent or if there is improper rainfall on your crop in a manner that may lead to crops not receiving enough water, your crop health will decrease or die.
Therefore, irrigation is very important for vegetable farming, especially during dry seasons like in our case in WES. Vegetables are healthier, and fresher during the dry season if well irrigated. That is why dry-season vegetable farming is the best in terms of commercial purposes.
Farmers that engage in farming this season make 5 times the profit compared to raining season. It should be noted that vegetable farms are to be irrigated during raining season if there is a shortage in rainfall or drought.
Keep in mind that vegetables or any other crop need just the right amount of watering, over watering may lead to fruits cracking or leaves drying. Make sure you make a pathway for water to flow out after heavy rain or irrigation.
- Planting too much is not right.
Some farmers bid to manage space cluster crops in the farm where there should be enough space for plants to breathe and receive sunlight. Planting too many seeds/seedlings is a mistake in farming. Avoid it at all costs. I have seen our farmers planting Maize 4-6 per hole and pouring more seeds of rice per hole.
- Inadequate Spacing
Give your plants enough space to breathe while you also use most of the space you have available. Seek advice from the government ministry of Agriculture or any expert that you may know for proper spacing of any crop you would want culture including some forestry trees and fruits.
- Non maintenance Culture
Weeds and alien plants like Babatiru compete with crops for space, water, and soil nutrients. Failure to tackle such issues in the early days will lead to the weeds overgrowing and eventually covering your crops.
It's understandable that most farmers don’t know the actual time to weed the farm.
Another bad mistake in any crop farming is poor pest or insect management.
- Ignoring the challenge
Let’s assume the leaves are becoming yellowish or drying prematurely, you should be worried because it may be a result of many things, such as lack of a particular nutrient, insects attack, or too much water intake.
- Not staking is a common mistake in vegetable farming
Some plants such as cucumber, pepper, and tomatoes Banana bunch require staking for proper fruiting. Others may not produce plenty of pods if they are not stake.
- Not harvesting on time is a common mistake in Vegetable farming
Crops should be harvested on time; plants are harvested at different times depending on the crop. Harvesting cucumber starts from week 6, and watermelon 75 days if delayed.
