Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology entered into a partnership with Korean ROK HMEC unit in UNIMISS, a scientific collaboration that is currently investigating the performance of one of the high yielding rice varieties.
The initial plots of the 10-square-metre rice field were planted in September 2023, with the first harvest anticipated at the end of December. The field had been cleared and cleaned up between May and August. During a cropping season, the output, expressed in monitory terms, is 80,000 USD per production cycle, according to the lead ROK HMEC rice testing cultivator, Master Sergent, Kee-Chul Lee.
The vice chancellor of Dr.JG-MUST, Professor Abraham Matoc, during the planting ceremony attended by UNMISS heads of field office and other partners, said it was a great pleasure to implement the test project for rice scheme by Dr.JG-MUST in South Sudan as an independent country.
“It is a good experience that the rice planting has started with us here, and with Koreans, who were actually underdeveloped, but with hard work, they managed to be where they are now. I hope that with this rice scheme at our university, we will make a difference in the way we approach agriculture, particularly rice production in South Sudan,” said Professor Matoc Dhal.
An extension program of the rice farm is currently under plan by both the university and the ROK HMEC units to increase the production of the rice test cultivation plots to 20 tons by 2024.
