In brief
Xinhua reported on October 28, 2026, that the community of Aweil in Northern Bahr el Ghazal is turning seasonal floodwater into rice harvests, with more than 2,100 households farmed on roughly 1,000 hectares. The World Food Programme and Chinese partners provide training and equipment, but farmers face weeding, harvesting and machinery challenges. The initiative shows promise as a food‑security strategy, yet further support is necessary for expansion.
On October 28, 2026, Xinhua reported that farmers in Aweil, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, are turning seasonal floodwater into rice harvests, a practice that could offset the damage floods cause to the region's staple sorghum crops. The story cites Santino Akech, a 45‑year‑old farmer, and Haileselassie Berhanu, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) Aweil field office, as primary voices behind the effort.
For years, recurrent floods in South Sudan’s northern states have devastated the sorghum that local families rely on for sustenance. International aid agencies began reframing the flood not as a threat, but as a potential resource. Haileselassie Berhanu said the WFP has been exploring the use of flood‑affected lands for rice cultivation for several years, aiming to turn waterlogging into a food‑producing asset.
Today the initiative covers about 1,000 hectares—an expanse that, in 2025, produced 42 bags of rice, each 90 kilograms, from just 1.68 hectares of land, said Santino Akech. The large‑scale effort now involves more than 2,100 households, a dramatic increase from the earlier, individually operated plots.
“When flooding came, it affected sorghum, but the rice succeeded,” Santino Akech told Xinhua in a recent interview in Aweil. Akech noted that rice has become an alternative crop for community members who previously lacked the capacity to expand production on their own.
The shift to group farming has allowed families to pool land, labor and knowledge. WFP partners provide training in rice‑growing techniques from a local partner, helping farmers learn about planting, pest control and harvesting. Chinese partners also supply equipment for land preparation and field maintenance.
Despite promising results, ×farmers still wrestle with weeding and harvesting, both of which are difficult in saturated soils. Akech explained that rice cultivation is still a relatively new practice for many, and that the community needs more machinery to prepare waterlogged land, better training in improved cultivation methods and access to rice varieties suited to local conditions.
Mutinta Chimuka, the WFP country representative for South Sudan, visited Aweil to observe the growing rice fields. She stated that helping communities produce their own food is an essential part of the agency’s work to improve food security, alongside distributing food assistance. The crop she saw was flourishing, even in an area that had retained water despite a dry spell that affected agriculture elsewhere in the country.
Scaling the Initiative
Chimuka urged closer cooperation with state and national authorities to identify the most suitable locations for rice cultivation and to develop a coordinated plan for machinery distribution, crop rotation and irrigation management. She highlighted the need for a collaborative framework that aligns local farmers’ needs with national food security strategies.
Looking ahead, the WFP and its partners aim to refine the model by integrating improved rice varieties, mechanized weeding tools and robust harvesting equipment. Training programs will be expanded to cover post‑harvest processing, storage and market linkages, ensuring that the rice produced can meet both domestic consumption and potential export demands.
As South Sudanese farmers adapt to the challenges posed by seasonal flooding, their innovative use of floodwater for rice cultivation offers a blueprint for transforming natural adversity into an agricultural advantage. Continued support from aid agencies, local governments and the private sector will be essential to sustain and scale the project, enhancing food security for millions of households across the region.
