Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Hanbit unit, the supporting group for South Sudan reconstruction, had an opening ceremony for “Hanbit Farm” on July 26 to lay the foundation stone for food self-support for residents of South Sudan.

The event was attended by Major General Kim Yong-woo, the Chief of civil-military operations command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sudanese Agriculture and Forest Minister of the state of Jonglei, Mayen Ngor Atem, Hanbit unit, relevant state government officials and several local residents. Attendees toured the farm, checking out the variety of crops and their growth status, and had a field discussion about management plans.

Minister Atem said, “I am extremely thankful to Hanbit unit for not only supporting various areas such as residence, education and medical support but also setting the foundation to stand on their own feet for the local residents by handing down advanced agricultural technology.”

Beyond temporary food support, Hanbit Farm is a cooperative project that Hanbit unit and the Agriculture and Forest Ministry of the state of Jonglei push forward together to create agricultural infrastructure and provide cultivation methods for South Sudanese who suffer from outdated agricultural technology and famine.

For this, Hanbit unit has introduced “Saemaeul Movement”, the spirit of Korea‘s economic growth, to local residents since last May and conducted test cultivation for 14 different varieties such as sweet potato and so on within the post to pass on know-how about agricultural technology adapted to the local conditions. In addition, they were granted 6500㎡ of land near Bor City from the Jonglei state government and brought land under cultivation including tree removal and molding work at the same time. After several trials and discussions to select seeds suitable for the weather and soil of South Sudan, the unit finally selected 12 Korean and eight local seeds. These 20 seeds were sowed at the farm on August 1.

“We will continue providing agricultural technology education by hiring locals under the cooperation of the Agriculture and Forest Ministry of the state of Jonglei as well as grant residents harvest from the farm. If there is a request from them, we will expand the management of the farm,” said a relevant official of the unit.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

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