Western Bahr El Ghazaal (WBEG), South Sudan - Part II

IOM Consultant Reintegration Expert in Greater Bahr El Ghazaal

From March 2011 through to the end of May 2011, I was employed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), as Consultant Reintegration Expert for the IOM's Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) Program for former Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers in the States of Warrap, Northern and Western Bahr El Ghazaal that make up the region of Greater Bahr El Ghazaal (GBEG).

During this period I travelled extensively in GBEG, reviewing livelihoods options and interviewing former SPLA fighters and others, some of whom had benefited from a package of support intended to facilitate their reintegration into rural South Sudan.  The result was a report on a "Labour Market and Natural Resources Assessment:  Livelihoods Opportunities for the reintegration of demobilised militia and for Women in the Host Communities in northern and western Bahr El Ghazaal and Warrap States" - with recommendations that were intended to inform and improve the rural livelihoods re-establishment support provided by IOM to re-integrees. 

Western Bahr El Ghazaal State

Geography, administration and ethnology of Western Bahr El Ghazaal

The state of Western Bahr El Ghazaal (WBEG), bordered to the West by the Central African Republic (CAR), to the South by the state of Western Equatoria, to the East by Warrap state, and to the North by Southern Darfur, Northern Bahr El Ghazaal and Southern Kordofan, comprises an area of some 93,900 km².  The area is principally inhabited by the Balanda, Jur Chol (Luo) and the Fertit (includes the Kreish, Banda and Binga).

WBEG, with a population of approximately 333,431 people[1], is administratively divided into three counties (Wau, Jur River and Raja), which are further divided into some 16 payams.  In early 2011, the county headquarters for Jur River County was still undecided. Raja is the county headquarters for Raja county, and the county headquarters for Wau county, Wau town, is also the state capital and the second largest town in South Sudan after Juba.

Livelihoods in Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Livelihoods in WBEG are predominantly (64%) rural and principally based on crops-based agriculture, supplemented with livestock production (cattle, goats, sheep, and scavenging poultry) and the harvesting of fish and forestry products (timber, charcoal, wild foods (fruits leaves and tubers) and honey).

WBEG has enormous unexploited agricultural potential and the capability to become a food-surplus state.  With increasing inter-state linkage of markets through major improvements in the road network, opportunities abound for marketing surplus crop production and reducing dependence on crop production in the north.  Every opportunity should be taken to provide support to agricultural production based livelihoods through the provision of simple and easily serviceable technology (eg. replacing the maloda with the East African hoe or ox plough, introducing irrigation through the shaduf, washer or treadle pumps), farmer training and strengthening of marketing.  

Livestock production, particularly of cattle, probably has not the same importance, to the household economy of the average household in WBEG, as crop production.  Though some large herds of cattle belonging to Jur agropastoralists were seen, the majority of rural households in WBEG own few cattle.  One key informant interviewed near Mapel in Jur River county advised that some years ago he had kept a herd of more than 150 cattle, but they had all been raided during the years of conflict, and today he has no cattle.  Small stock, particularly goats, to a much lesser extent sheep, and scavenging poultry, all play a more important role than cattle in contributing to the average household economy in WBEG.

In certain areas, notably between Sopo and Raja in the NW of WBEG, the forest is heavily infested with tsetse fly (identified as Glossina morsitans) the cyclical transmitter of trypanosomias in livestock and sleeping sickness in humans.  In this area are “Umburoro” (West African Fulani herdsmen), who somehow manage to survive with their cattle – probably by avoiding the worst areas and by injecting their livestock with trypanocidal drugs (the latter confirmed by a trader in Raja selling large quantities of trypanocides).

Fishing with spears, lines, nets and traps from rivers, streams, swamps, and seasonally river-flooded roadside dams created by road constructors, is an important contributor to food security, especially for households living in close proximity to rivers, eg. at Thar Kueng, Fongo, Sopo, Raja, Bussera, and Raffili.  Fishing and the sale of both fresh and dried fish in local markets are also important income generating activities, and it is clear that, mainly due to a lack of investment in cold chain transport and market storage and the high perishability of fresh fish, that the market demand for fresh fish is rarely, if ever, met.  While dried fish are traded over considerable distances, no evidence was found of significant flows of international trade – viz. the trade in dried fish with central African countries, that historically existed.  

  

Agro-Ecology of Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Apart from a small area in the South-West of the state, bordering the CAR and Western Equatoria which is greenbelt moist forest, and in the NE near Kuajok (categorized as the “Western Flood Plains”), WBEG is almost exclusively located on the great “ironstone plateau” of South Sudan, an area characterized by acidic lateritic soils of generally low intrinsic fertility, and broad leaved wooded savannah.  The relatively high rainfall in this area (in excess of 1,000 mm per annum tends to leach nutrients out of the crop root zone and this is essentially the reason for the evolution of shifting slash and burn cultivation that makes available to shallow-rooted crops the nutrients that can be “pulled” from lower down by the deeper-rooted tree cover, when cut down and burned.  

The long rain season (from April to November) favours the production of a range of crops, and probably because of the effort involved in clearing an area of land for cultivation, relatively intensive use, through inter-cropping, is made of the relatively small areas (generally not much more than one feddan[2]) that are cleared, to grow mainly dhurra (long-duration open panicled Sorghum vulgare), but also sesame (Sesamum indicum), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and, on sandy soils, groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), and bambarra groundnut (Vigna subterranea).  Small surpluses of sesame, groundnut and dhurra are taken to market, or may be processed into and consumed or sold as sorghum beer or groundnut paste.  The production of sorghum beer is a widespread small-scale industry throughout Greater Bahr El Ghazaal.  Other crops, including bulrush or pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), finger millet (Eleusine corocara), maize, beans and cassava, are also grown.  

Two short perennial crops are potentially useful in the area and should be promoted where possible – One is the tuber crop, cassava (Manihot esculenta), which is occasionally seen; the other is a pulse, pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan).

Much use is made of wild plants and fruits, and they are also collected and sold in local markets.  During the rains wild Portulaca is also harvested and sold as the leafy vegetable “Regla” in the market.  Mangos are abundant in and around the major urban centres in WBEG and in season (March to July) are to be found for sale in local markets.  Surplus mangos are sliced and crudely sun dried for storage.  Borassus palms (Borassus aethiopum) known as “Dilep” are widespread and the fruits, as well as the sprouted roots (“Aluf”) are eaten with the latter sold in markets.  The thorny shrub, known as “limo” (Ximenia caffra) is widespread and produces small sour orange fruit that are much appreciated, eaten raw and for production of an alcoholic drink.  In other parts of Africa an edible non-drying oil, with good keeping qualities, is extracted from the single seed and used as a cosmetic skin and hair oil and to soften leather.  The yellowish wood is scented and resembles sandalwood.  By far the most important tree oilseed in WBEG is however, the shea butter/lulu nut tree (Vitellaria nilotica), which is both widespread and abundant in parts of Western Bahr El Ghazaal, eg. in the area around Mapel, where a lulu nut processing factory has been established.  Lulu nuts are collected during the season, stored and used at the household level to produce an edible oil for cooking.  Surplus production is also sold in local markets.

The most important and most obvious natural resource in the state of WBEG is the forestry resource.  The forests contain a number of important hardwoods including African mahogany (Khaya grandifolia and Khaya senegalensis) and there are also areas where extensive teak (Tectona grandis) plantations were established (eg. between Wau and Bazia), though cut down during the war years and now regenerating.  Partly because it is illegal to cut mahogany or teak without a government licence, the most intensely utilized hardwood is iron wood, Prosopis Africana, which is widespread in the forests of WBEG, known locally as “Amsaruch” and produces a fairly heavy, fine-grained, termite-resistant wood, used for carving pounding mortars, fencing and building poles.  The tree is also one of the principle species used for fuelwood (especially for the brick kilns) and for the production of charcoal, on which so many depend as a source of income.  Collected dry pods have been seen piled for later grinding and use as fish poison.   The forests also provide the habitat and flowering trees used by bees to produce honey, the harvesting of which can be an important seasonal source of income.

In some areas (eg. between Thar Kueng and Kuajok) the open wooded grassland is dominated by a shrub/small tree, Piliostigma thonningii or “Pac” (Dinka), the most obvious feature of which are the bi-lobed leaves, which give the tree its common name of “Camel foot” and the numerous large black/rust red indehiscent pods.  The bark from the branches strips easily and is used to make rope or to tie roofing poles together.  The pods are extremely nutritious and browsed by cattle and wild ungulates.  Occasionally pods are collected by cattle herders to feed to calves kept at the kraal.  It is considered that this is an extremely under-utilised resource that could easily (the tree is not armed with thorns) be collected, processed (ground) and used in ruminant and poultry feeds.   

In the wetter areas, bamboo forests occur.  Bamboo canes, cut and transported by lorry from these areas to the outskirts of major towns such as Wau, are used to weave split bamboo fences, an industry that employs large numbers of people, given the almost exclusive use of bamboo or grass fences around urban household compounds.

Certain grass species from seasonally flooded areas are cut and bundled and used either (dependent on species) for thatching houses (Hyparrhenia rufa) or woven into fencing panels.  Large numbers of people are employed in cutting and bundling grasses for own use, weaving fences or thatching roofs, or selling the bundles in local and state capital markets.

Whereas bamboo canes and grass can be sustainably harvested, for many people in rural areas with access to markets, the cutting and burning of hardwood trees for charcoal production is an important (though potentially environmentally destructive) source of income.  At present, in early 2011, in WBEG, this business remains in the hands of individual rural producers, who transport 2-3 sacks of charcoal per day to market, mainly by bicycle.  However, with increasing demand for charcoal in the towns and for logs to fuel the brick kilns, it is only a matter of time before the collection, transportation and sale of fuel logs and charcoal becomes organized on a bigger scale.  As far back as 1993, FAO estimated that the annual rate of deforestation in the Sudan was approaching five hundred thousand hectares, one of the highest in Africa (FAO Project: Forestry Development in Sudan, 1993). 

Markets of Western Bahr El Ghazaal

With rapidly developing major inter-state arterial murram road networks (eg. from Wau to Aweil, Wau to Warrap, Wau to Tonj, Wau to Deim Zubeir), the markets of WBEG are becoming increasingly integrated.  Primary supply of most consumer, and all manufactured goods to these markets is still through trade from North Sudan, principally from Khartoum.  Primary sources of most staple grains in the markets in March/April 2011, are mainly Darfur, Kordofan and north to Omdurman and Khartoum.  Virtually all vegetables, including perishables such as tomato, are retailed in markets at high cost, typically SDG 12 (US$ 3.75) per kg, as are being supplied from Khartoum.  A limited range of leafy vegetables – “Khudra” (Jute, Corchorus olitorius), “Regla” (Common Purslane, Portulaca oloracea), “JirJir” (Garden rocket, Eruca sativa) and “Figil” (Egyptian or White Radish, Raphanus sativus) are grown and sold in local markets.  Fresh, dried or ground “Bamia” (okra, Hibiscus esculentus) is grown to a limited extent locally, but is the most widely available vegetable product, usually presented dried (“weka”) in the markets.

Small Farm Production in Bagari, Western Bahr El Ghazaal:

Small farm at Brinji with tuk-tuk to take produce to market

Brinji farm: Jute, tomato and okra

Shallow well for small pump irrigation at Brinji farm

Small Chinese diesel motor and belt-driven water pump for irrigation

Shallow well for irrigation and water pump location at Brinji farm

Mint crop (for addition to tea) and banana at Brinji farm

White Roselle (Hibiscus esculentus) Brinji farm

Cumin at Brinji farm

Cumin at Brinji farm

Pineapple at Brinji farm

Sun-Drying Mango at Brinji farm

Sun-dried Mango at Brinji farm

Sun-Drying Mango at Brinji farm

Sales - Shea nut oil and ripe mango at Brinji farm

Small Farm Production and Market in Kangi, Western Bahr El Ghazaal:

Interview in Udici with SPLA DDR Participant at his homestead 

Experimental Plantation of Cassava 

Sweet Cassava with low levels of Cyanogenetic Glycosides

Cassava with red petioles - bitter variety with higher levels of Toxins (Cyanogenetic Glycosides)

Watermelon - most affected by Lesser Melon Fly (Dacus ciliatus)

Tomato production at Kangi

Eggplant (aubergine or brinjal) Production at Kangi farm

Seed of Common Purslane (Portulaca olaracaea) or "Regla" commonly grown for use as a cooked vegetable in South 

Common Purslane (Portulaca olaracaea) or "Regla" growing in Kangi farm

Common Purslane (Portulaca olaracaea) or "Regla" growing in Kangi farm

Onion growing in Kangi farm

Tomato growing in Kangi farm

Jute (Corchorus olitorius) or "Khudra" grown in South Sudan, not for fibre, but for use as a cooked vegetable

Kanji farm and borrow pit water source (note brick stack)

Hand-lathed mortars in Kangi market (and bottles of "lulu" nut (shea butter) cooking oil)

Groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) for sale in Kangi market

For sale in Kangi market - germinated Borassus palm (Borassus aethiopium) seed produces a large edible taproot 

Dried, mashed fish balls ("Mandesha") for sale in Kangi market

"Micro-sales" - 7 onions for sale in Kangi market

Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) for sale in Kangi market

Sour milk stored in in gourds for sale in Kangi market

Passing the time with a game of baoule in the market place

Locally known as "amsaruch", Prosopis africana is the hardwood of choice in the moist woodland savannah of Western Bahr El Ghazaal,
given also that it is illegal to cut the more valuable teak and mahogany hardwood trees.  As a legume, the tree has the potential to improve soil fertility through the fixation of Nitrogen.  It has great potential for parkland agroforestry systems in the Sahel, typically growing in rocky soils, altitudes up to 1,000 m asl and with mean annual rainfall as low as 500 mm.  

The scaly bark of Prosopis africana, the only tropical African Prosopis species, that occurs from Senegal to Ethiopia, slashes deep orange to red-brown with white streaks.  Due to extensive over-exploitation, it has disappeared from large areas of the southern Sahel and adjacent Sudan savannah. It is heavily exploited in South Sudan.  The bark and roots contain 14-16% tannins, can be used to tan leather and impart a red colour to the tanned leather.

The foliage of Prosopis africana - Throughout much of its range, branches are broken off or lopped
as the young leaves and shoots are an important fodder source towards the end of the dry season.  

Foliage of Prosopis africana.  Almost all parts of the tree are used in medicine, the leaves for headache and toothache.

The Pods of Prosopis africana are eaten by cattle.  Pounded dry pods are used as a fish poison.

The fermented seeds of Prosopis africana are used in some parts of Africa as a food condiment

Trunk of Prosopis africana.  Commonly known as "ironwood", the wood blunts cutting tools and cannot be nailed without first drilling holes.

Annona senegalensis is widely distributed in semi-arid to sub-humid regions throughout sub-Saharan African.  The fruit has a mild pineapple flavour, leaves are used as a vegetable and the flowers are used to spice meals.  In Sudan the leaves are boiled to make a perfume.  The bark can be processed to make a yellow/brown dye, an insecticide and a medicine used to treat Guinea worm infestation.  The wood ash is added to chewing tobacco.

Cattle in the woodland savannah of Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Standing thatch in area flooded during the rains in the moist savannah woodland

Moist savannah woodland of Western Bahr El Ghazaal

African Mahogany tree (Khaya senegalensis) in the moist wooded savannah of Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Cassia abbreviata, the "sjambok pod" or long-tail Cassia is native to Africa

Fragrant and spectacular yellow flowers of Cassia abbreviata

Fragrant flowers of the wild indigenous Gardenia ternifolia

Fruit of Gardenia ternifolia

Gardenia ternifolia

Moist savannah woodland cleared and burned for farming in Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Hardwood logs of Prosopis africana 

 

 Small Farm Production and Market in Kwajok, Western Bahr El Ghazaal:

Dinka homestead with Borassus palms (Borassus aethiopium) 

Run off from hand water pump used to irrigate small plot of Tobacco

Green leafy vegetable - Jute (Corchorus olitorius) leaves for sale in Kwajok Market

Green leafy vegetable - Cowpea leaves for sale in Kwajok Market 

Green leafy vegetable - Common Purslane (Portulaca oloracea) leaves for sale in Kwajok Market 

Fresh fruit and eggs from Khartoum - for sale in Kwajok Market

Fresh fish for sale in Kwajok Market

Fresh fish for sale in Kwajok Market

Poultry sales - Kwajok Market

Dried Chilli Pepper for sale in Kwajok Market

Dried Okra Powder for sale in Kwajok Market

Dried Okra ("Bamia") for sale in Kwajok Market

Bitter-sweet fruits of the Desert Date (Balanites aegyptiaca) "Lalop" for sale in Kwajok Market 

Fresh milk sales in Kwajok Market

Transporting two sacks of charcoal to Kwajok Market

Charcoal for sale in Kwajok Market

Green leafy vegetable - Pumpkin leaves (at rear) for sale in Kwajok Market

Fresh Okra ("Bamia") for sale in Kwajok Market

Groundnut paste (in foreground) for sale in Kwajok Market

Tobacco sales at Kwajok Market

Soaked sorghum grains for preparing sorghum beer

Malted sorghum grain for sorghum beer brewing

Sorghum brew boiled with sugar

Butcher in Kwajok Market

Kwajok:  Collecting "lulu nuts" (Shea butter nut) from Vitellaria paradoxa tree 

The African "Sausage" tree (Kigelia africana) - The fresh fruit is poisonous, but can be prepared for consumption by drying, roasting or fermentation.
In Central Kenya, the dried fruits are used to make an alcoholic beverage known as "Muratina"

The author trying out an ApproTEC "Super Moneymaker" treadle pump for irrigation.  The pumps were effective, but because of high sediment loads in the water rapidly wore out the silicone rubber piston washers, rendering the pump, in the absence of spares in South Sudan, useless.
So simple and cheap to extend the working life of the pump by supplying it with several sets of the silicone rubber piston washers.    

Tobacco and some vegetables being grown next to a flooded borrow pit - irrigation by treadle pump 

The ApproTEC Super Money maker treadle pump being used to irrigate from the flooded borrow pit

Vegetables being grown next to a flooded borrow pit - irrigation by treadle pump 

Blossom end rot in tomato - Physiological disease caused by Calcium deficiency brought about by rapid changes in soil moisture and poor root development.  Soil moisture should be kept constant during flowering and fruit formation.  Calcium-deficient soils can be limed before planting; foliar applications of calcium chloride or soil applications of gypsum at transplanting can help prevent the incidence of this problem.

Sukuma wiki growing near Kwajok

In some areas (e.g. between Thar Kueng and Kuajok) the open wooded grassland is dominated by a shrub/ small tree, Piliostigma thonningii, or "Pac" (Dinka), the most obvious feature of which are the bi-lobed leaves, which give the tree its common name of "Camel foot" and the numerous large black/rust red indehiscent pods.  Bark from the branches strips easily and is used to make rope or tie roofing poles together.  The pods are nutritious and browsed by cattle and wild ungulates.  Occasionally, pods are collected by cattle herders to feed calves kept at the kraal.  Considered this is an extremely under-utilised resource that could easily (the tree is not armed with thorns) be collected, processed (ground) and used in ruminant and poultry feeds.     

Green pod of Piliostigma thonningii

"Camel foot" leaves of Piliostigma (formerly Bauhinia) thonningii

Dry black pods of Piliostigma thonningii

Mabior Tuot near Kwajok - Vegetable Production supported by NGO with raised water tank and treadle pumps

New and old roofing thatch

Bundles of roofing thatch (Hyparrhenia rufa grass) for sale in local market

Marula tree (Schlerocarya birrea)

Leaves and fruit of Marula (Schlerocarya birrea)

Fruit of Marula (Schlerocarya birrea)

 
Small Farm Production and the Processing of Lulu Nut in Mapel, Western Bahr El Ghazaal:

Road construction flooded borrow pit suitable for fish farming in Mapel

Tobacco Production in Mapel

Mapel tobacco production watered from surface well

Unimproved (non-grafted) mango tree seedlings, and in foreground drying eggplant crop destroyed by mildew

Egg plant, a crop commonly affected by the fungal disease powdery mildew -
which in the absence of fungicides, or knowledge of fungicides, is impossible to control

Unimproved (non-grafted) mango tree seedlings,

Tomato plant affected by leaf curl virus

Okra ("Bamia") plant

Woodland cleared and burned for "slash and burn" agriculture

Compound for Shea nut butter Cooperative in Mapel (in foreground Shea nut tree and screw presses)

Fruit of the Shea nut butter tree (formerly Butyrospermum parkii) - Vitellaria paradoxa

Grading Shea nut for Quality

Grade "A" Shea nut - Cosmetic manufacture quality

Lulu nut ovens

Lulu nut screw press expeller for expelling oil

Bulk container of Lulu nut body lotion

Lulu nuts drying in store

Lulu nut store - keeping collected lulu nuts dry and free from fungus

Old regenerating Burmese teak (Tectona grandis) plantation

Small Farm Production and Natural Resources in Raffili, Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Transportation of Charcoal to market for sale

Transportation of grass thatching straw to market for sale 

FAO Farmer Field School (FFS) in Bazia

FFS Sugar cane plantation with sugar cane suffering effects of lack of water

Borassus Palm (Borassus aethiopium) with fruit

Edible Fruit of Borassus Palm (Borassus aethiopium) 

Brick Kiln (note log of Ironwood "Amsaruch" (Prosopis africana) used to fuel kiln

Greyish Eagle Owl (Bubo cinerascens) at Bazia

Small backyard Burmese Teak (Tectona grandis) Plantation - Cut by soldiers

Net fishing in a tributary of the Jur river

Hollowed out Borassus Palm log fishing canoe

Net fishing at Bussera

Water Melon and Pineapple in Jur river irrigation farm

Future guard dogs at Jur river irrigated farm

Capsicum (Sweet Pepper) at Jur river farm

Cassava nursery at Jur river farm

Onions at Jur river irrigated farm

Tomatoes at Jur river irrigated farm

"Amsaruch" (Prosopis africana) pods collected for use as fish poison

Jur river Cattle

Small Farm Production and Natural Resources in Raja, Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Pounding Sorghum Grain at Fongo Fishing Camp

Fisherman at Fongo with woven palm leaf fish trap and fishing net

West African Fulani herdsmen with Cattle in forest - around 50 km from Raja

Raja - Improved fired brick - built grain store with protection against climbing rodents

Crocodile Skin Sourced from Central African Republic.  On 06.03.2018 South Sudan banned all forms of wildlife hunting and trade in wildlife products.  Transgressors face a 2-year jail term or fines.  South Sudan has been a major hub for wildlife products sourced from DRC and CAR. 

Crocodile Skin Sourced from Central African Republic

Python Skin - Sourced from Central African Republic

Python Skins - Sourced from Central African Republic
On 06.03.2018 South Sudan banned all forms of wildlife hunting and trade in wildlife products.  Transgressors face a 2-year jail term or fines

Trader with large quantities of bees wax - Sourced from forest honey gatherers

Trader with bulk honey - Sourced from forest honey gatherers

Trader selling mint (for adding to tea) in Raja Market

Tea bar in Raja Market - with wide variety of hot drinks

Petrol Station in Raja Market - Petrol Sales in Plastic bottles made illegal after independence

Raja Market - Mint Leaves for use in Tea

Tomato Sales in Raja Market

Sales of Common Purslane (Portulaca oloracaea) in Raja Market

Cooking oil and onions for sale in Raja Market

White Egyptian radish (Raphanus sativa) for sale in Raja Market

Butcher in Raja Market

Tomato, Jute, Spring Onion and White Radish for Sale in Raja Market

Cowpea leaves for Sale in Raja Market

Sweet-smelling Acacia nilotica Pods - Cough remedy in Raja Market (note exit holes of Bruchid seed Beetles) 

Sour pods of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) for Sale in Raja Market

Red beans - sourced from the World Food Programme - for sale in Raja Market

WFP-sourced red beans for sale in Raja Market (note exit holes of the Bruchid beetles that frequently
infest and damage pulse grains in storage and are often a limiting factor in small-holder pulse production in East Africa) 

Washed and dried Coffee Beans for Sale in Raja Market

Typical Market Stall in Raja Market

Ginger Rhizomes for Sale in Raja Market

Garlic Cloves for Sale in Raja Market

Dried Dates for Sale in Raja Market

"Artrun" Mineral Supplement for Ruminants for Sale in Raja Market

Collected Bitter-sweet fruit of "Lalob" Desert Date (Balanites aegyptiaca) for Sale in Raja Market

Typical Product Range on General Market Stall in Raja Market

Charity Water jars - free drinking water - in Raja Market

"Karkadey" Hibiscus tea - Hot sweet/sour drink (with mint) - prepared from stewed flowers of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) 

The Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) - fleshy sepals of the flowers used to make "Karkadey"- hibiscus tea 

The Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) - fleshy sepals of the flowers used to make "Karkadey"- hibiscus tea 

Hot Beverage Sales in Raja Market - note all the tins for condiments and spices

Charcoal Sales in Raja Market

Thatching grass, woven grass mat fence and building poles for Sale in Raja Market

Borassus palm roofing poles for Sale in Raja Market

"Amsaruch" (Prosopis africana) hardwood roofing poles cut from the forest - for Sale in Raja Market

Bamboo building poles for Sale in Raja Market

"Seybay" Construction Poles for Sale in Raja Market

"Habil" Poles for Sale in Raja Market

"Kofu" Construction Poles for Sale in Raja Market

"Ambulutu" Construction Poles for Sale in Raja Market

Bundle of Unidentified Construction Poles cut from the forest - for Sale in Raja Market 

Wicker basket tree seedling protector - for Sale in Raja Market

Thatching grass, woven grass mat fence, charcoal and building poles - for Sale in Raja Market

Horse and Cart for Transportation of Goods in Raja Market

Groundnuts - One of two Varieties for Sale in Raja Market

Groundnuts - One of two Varieties for Sale in Raja Market

Rock Salt for Sale in Raja Market

Small restaurant business in Raja Market

Pumpkins for Sale in Raja Market

Gourds for Sale in Raja Market

Gourds + basket for household drinking water storage - for Sale in Raja Market 

Dried Tomato - sourced from Darfur - for Sale in Raja Market

Dried Okra and Salt Merchants in Raja Market

Selling Nigerian Body lotion in Raja Market

Veterinary retail outlet in Raja - Significant sales of trypanocides to Fulani herdsmen who pass through tsetse-infested areas in the forest close to Raja

Fulani sheep being offered for sale in Raja Livestock Market

4-Year old Fulani sheep ram being sold in Raja Livestock market

Custard Apple (Annona squamosa) - Tree Seedling brought from Sudan 

The tunnelling leaf damage of the larva of the moth (Lepidoptera: Gracillaridae) Citrus Leaf miner (Phyllocnistis citrella) pest on grapefruit leaf

Gummosis (Phytophthora fungus) disease in mature grapefruit tree (seedling brought from Khartoum)

The author operating a traditional irrigation "Shaduf" - ancient traditional irrigation technology from Sudan 

The author operating a traditional irrigation "Shaduf" - the only one seen while travelling in Greater Bahr El Ghazaal 

Water raised from river to irrigation channel with a "Shaduf"

Shaduf-irrigated "khudra" or flax (Corchorius olitorius)

Guard House being Constructed for the Red Crescent Organisation (note hardwood lintels above windows/door)

"Bulta" Tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica) for Sale in Raja Market 

Watermelon - sourced from Sopo - for Sale in Raja Market

Raja Livestock Market

Fulani Cattle for Sale to Butchers in Raja Livestock Market

Early Morning at the Raja Livestock Slaughter Slab

Post-Mortem Lymph Node Examination at Raja Slaughter Slab

Carcasses being skinned/dressed at Raja Slaughter Slab in early morning

Post-Mortem Veterinary Inspection at Raja Slaughter Slab

Early Morning Slaughter of Bull at Raja Slaughter Slab

Dressed Carcasses at Raja Slaughter Slab 

Unusual, unmistakeable long tailed crow - the Piapiac (Ptilostomus afer) attracted to Offal at Raja Slaughter Slab

Lung condemned after post-mortem inspection

Dressed Carcasses for Collection by Local Meat Retailers in Raja Market

Dried Cattle Hides at Raja Slaughter Slab

Gourd Vine in tree near Raja

"Umbuluto" Fruit Tree near Raja

Foliage of "Umbulutu" Fruit Tree

Trunk of "Umbulutu" Fruit Tree

Fruit of "Umbulutu" tree

Fulani donkeys and Cattle in tsetse-infested forest about 50 km from Raja

Borrow Pit full of water - potential for fish farming

Improved Grain Store Constructed by NGO ACTED

Inside ACTED Improved Granary

Inside ACTED Improved Granary

Legs of Granary Protected from Climbing Rodents with Inverted Steel Bowl

Legs of Granary Protected from Climbing Rodents with Inverted Steel Bowl

Chicken Coop to Protect Chickens from Nocturnal Predators

Mud brick - Constructed Improved Granary

Mud brick - Constructed Improved Granary

Small Farm Production and Natural Resources in Tonj, Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Women waiting for Well to recharge between Kubrisac and Kuajiena

Open Storage/Sun-drying of Dhurra Pannicles

Open Storage/Sun-drying of Dhurra Pannicles

White and Red Sorghum in Open Storage

Yellow Maize Cobs Stored/Sun-dried in Open on Tree

Yellow Maize Cobs Stored/Sun-dried in Open on Tree

DDR Participant Interview at Homestead

Bundles of grass (Hyparrhenia rufa) thatch for Sale at the side of the road

Unidentified "Abu Kamira" fruit

Plane Crash beyond Tonj Airstrip

Shallow well irrigation near Jur River at Tonj

Shallow well irrigation near Jur River at Tonj

Small Chinese-Manufactured Water Pump for Shallow well irrigation near Jur River at Tonj

"Khudra" or Jute Production at Tonj (note hedge of the Poisonous "bio-diesel" plant: Jatropha curcas 

Jute (Corchorus olitorius) grown as a leafy vegetable at Tonj

Lister-Petter Diesel Water Pump irrigating from the river Jur at Tonj

Nur River at Tonj

Irrigation Pipes - River Jur at Tonj

Hedge of the "bio-diesel" plant Jatropha curcas

Jatropha curcas hedge to irrigated farm at Tonj (note cluster of Jatropha fruit)

Fruit and oil-seed of the Poisonous Bio-diesel Plant Jatropha curcas

The Seed of Jatropha curcas - that can be crushed for extraction of oil (bio-diesel) 

Brick Kilns and the huge quantity of hardwood fuel logs (of principally Prosopis africana) used to fire the bricks 

Small Farm Production and Natural Resources in Wau, Western Bahr El Ghazaal

Garden Centre - Tree seedling Sales in Wau Town

Tree Seedling Sales in Wau Town 

Vegetable Sales in Wau Town

Grapefruit from Khartoum - Fruit Sales in Wau Town

Limes from Khartoum - Fruit Sales in Wau Town

Capsicum from Khartoum - Vegetable Sales in Wau Town

Carrots and Cabbages from Khartoum - Vegetable Sales in Wau Town

Donkey Cart Water Seller - Wau Town

Shallow Well near River for Irrigation - Wau Town

Diesel irrigation pump - Wau Town

Irrigated "Figil" Egyptian White Radish (Raphanus sativa)

Jur River Irrigated Farm at Wau

Irrigated Tomato Production in Wau

Tomato affected by Sun-Scald - loss of leaves due to fungal disease - Wau Tomato Production

Jur River Irrigated Farm, Wau

Irrigation water intake pipe - Jur river farm, Wau 

Harvesting Mango in Wau

Red Melon Beetle (Aulacophora africana) - Pest of "Figil" White Egyptian Radish

Red Melon Beetle (Aulacophora africana) - Pest of "Figil" White Egyptian Radish

Skeletonising damage to leaves of Egyptian White Radish (Raphanus sativa) caused by Red Melon Beetle (Aulacophora africana)

Luffa aegyptiaca vine - the fruit ("Loofah" or "Luffa") is edible when small, but quickly becomes fibrous

Mature fibrous "Luffa" fruit - useful as a back scrubber

Drying Okra and Okra Leaves