Awerial farmers count losses as irregular rain patterns fail crops

Farmers in nine villages of Awerial County, Lakes State are counting heavy losses after irregular rain patterns destroying their crops. The villages affected include Kalthok, Aguarkuoth, Gak-Arol, Maraya, Dak Atuan, and Yuith Manguak.

At Yuith Manguak, which received only four major rains since June, crops such as maize, and groundnuts withered before maturity.

Tiir Arie, a local farmer, said this is the second consecutive year of crop failure.

“We cultivate crops, maize, and groundnuts, and everything died. If you go to the garden now, you see the groundnuts dried, you even can’t manage to uproot them. What worries us is what to eat and where to get seeds next year, because we can’t get seeds from these,” Arie said, urging government and partners for urgent support.

Martha Ajok Abhor from Yol Akot described similar losses.

“My beans are damaged, my maize is damaged, my chala is damaged, and my groundnuts are damaged. I need help with new seeds because chala takes a long time to mature, and it doesn’t help,” Abhor stated.

Moses Mayom Reech, who lost 18 pedants of maize, noted the lack of irrigation and meteorological systems to help during irregular rains.

"Even if we are close to the river like this, we cannot go to the river and fetch water on our head to irrigate these large farms manually unless there is a smart irrigation system to be installed to help us overcome these challenges,” Reech said.

“There are machines that the government can install to predict rain so that people cultivate with adequate knowledge of rain patterns. Now we cultivate randomly, and this exposed our farms to risks due to rain deficiency.”

Maketh Kuot Deng, project officer at Finn Church Aid, advised farmers to work closely with agriculture experts to adapt their crops to changing rains.

“The advice I want to give them is to be close to agriculture experts to understand the rain patterns and take livelihood messages that we give them seriously,” he said.

Reuben Malou Malukdit, Awerial County Director for Agriculture, said a meteorological station will be set up next year to provide rainfall predictions and guide farmers in planning their cultivation.

“The rain patterns are always obtained by the agriculture and environment because we are responsible for that. But this year, we will have a station here to help in the predictions of rain so that farmers cultivate with the knowledge of the annual climate,” Malukdit stated.

In other parts of the county, including Pap, residents faced flooding in early August, which submerged crops and reduced yields. With such climate extremes, farmers remain vulnerable and urgently need support to safeguard their livelihoods.