EKSS Champions and Fellows Lead Conservation Agriculture Training for 75 Smallholder Farmers in Mangala and Gumbo-Sherikat

EKSS Communications

6/11/20262 min read

JUBA, South Sudan — June 2026. Trained Champions and Fellows of EmpowerKids–South Sudan (EKSS) have successfully conducted a series of Conservation Agriculture trainings for 75 smallholder farmers and Church Agriculture Committee members in Bajur and Dumandong villages of Mangala Payam and at Jerusalem Church in Gumbo-Sherikat, marking a significant milestone in the rollout of the EmpowerFarmers South Sudan (EFSS) programme.

The trainings, delivered using the internationally recognised Foundations for Farming (FfF) approach, equipped participants with practical, low-cost techniques to increase crop yields, restore soil health, and build resilience against South Sudan's increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns.

Reaching communities through trusted institutions

In Mangala Payam, north of Juba along the White Nile, farmers in Bajur and Dumandong villages received hands-on training covering the four core principles of Conservation Agriculture under the Foundations for Farming approach: doing things on time, to a high standard, without wastage, and with joy, alongside practical field techniques including minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover using mulch, and precise planting using the Pfumvudza plot model.

In Gumbo-Sherikat, EKSS partnered with Jerusalem Church, where members of the congregation and the Church Agriculture Committee were trained alongside local smallholder farmers. Working through faith institutions allows the programme to reach organised, committed groups with existing structures for mobilisation, accountability, and long-term follow-up.

What comes next

The 75 newly trained farmers will now establish their own demonstration plots ahead of the coming planting season, supported by ongoing mentoring visits from EKSS Champions and Fellows. Their yields and practices will be monitored as part of the EFSS programme's learning framework, and the best-performing farmers will be considered for training as the next generation of Champions.

The trainings form part of the EmpowerFarmers South Sudan (EFSS) Conservation Agriculture programme, EKSS's flagship food security initiative implemented with the generous support of GEIF. The programme aims to transform subsistence farming households into food-secure, surplus-producing families through faithful application of Conservation Agriculture principles.

EmpowerKids–South Sudan (EKSS) is a national non-governmental organisation (RRC Reg. No. 169) working in education, youth empowerment, and conservation agriculture since 2014. To learn more about the EFSS programme or partner with us, visit ekss.org or contact info@ekss.org.

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