Community groups united by farming

Sudanese girl refugees at Farshana camp, Chad. [Fiona Callister]

In Farchana, CAFOD's Chad partner SECADEV gives out tools and seeds as part of an agriculture project to support both those from Darfur living in the camp there, as well as locals

by Alladoum Nadingar, SECADEV communicator

It is almost 7am. Farchana is not yet totally awake but the sun is already burning. This is unusual as, at this time of year, it traditionally rains every day.

“The dry season may arrive soon,” one of SECADEV's animator explains. “It might affect the cultures and harvesting”, he adds.

We leave the camp of Farchana with Sheikh Abdel Aziz Abdallah Daoud, who is head of the tillers organisation committee for the Farchana camp.

Just behind a small hill, we discover a large field. Two women are working in the heat. "They are my wives. Four of my daughters also help us in the fields,” he says.

In this field, he cultivates bean and groundnut. Further on, he has two other fields where he cultivates millet, sorghum, water melon and cucumber.

Seeds distribution

When he arrived in Farchana in 2004, Sheik Abdel Aziz did not farm but, one year later, he began cultivating without any assistance.

“I had few means. As a consequence, I had a very small field and it did not bring a lot,” he says. “Last year, SECADEV gave us seeds which allowed me to cultivate a field of nearly one hectare and a half.

"I sold a part of the harvest, we used another part to eat, and I kept the balance as seeds.”

Adding these seeds the ones given to him by SECADEV this year has allowed him to increase his production. Now, he is farming almost five hectares.

The lands he farms are owned by a woman from the Farchana village. “She told me I could use them. In return, she does not ask anything. To thank her, I’ll give her a millet bag after the harvest,” he adds.

At Farchana camp, the organising committee for the tillers was set up by choosing its members from the most motivated refugees. Its role consists of negotiating land with host populations and conducting mediations between farmers and breeders.

Encouraging cultivation

Sheikh Abdel Aziz says: “Some believe that if they cultivate, it means they will not go back to Darfur, others thought that the WFP (World Food Program) would not give them food anymore.

"But some understood that they would not be going back to Darfur soon, and so they must work.”

SECADEV distributes seeds and farm tools, and every beneficiary receives a hoe, a daba (another type of hoe), and an axe. The agriculture team then monitors the activities of the camp inhabitants.

The partner's animator, Solkem Genevieve, comments: “We established a program with the beneficiaries in order to visit their fields and organise treatment against insects which affect the cultures.”

In 2007, SECADEV has distributed seeds to 1,400 residents of the Farchana Camp - but it also gives them to host populations in the surrounding villages - so far 18 villages have benefited.

related resources

Darfur & Chad (612.50 kB) 14-slide powerpoint including notes for teachers, giving all the background to the conflict in Sudan - accompanies the launch of CAFOD's Darfur & Chad Appeal in May 2007

Darfur prayer: Five years on (25.50 kB) A prayer and reflection written by The Catholic Bishop of El Obeid, Antonio Menegazzo - whose diocese includes Darfur - to mark the fifth anniversary of the conflict in the region

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