BRANCHES AND LOCATIONS

(See “Organisation” for a flow chart of the Savannah Farmers Cooperataive)

There are four major farms being developed as of 2004. They are located at:

(1) - LogoberoSFC Farm - a few hours by almost impassable roads from Yei, to the north-east.

This farm consists of 12,335 acres. It was used in the early 1908s as a refugee camp for thousands of people from Ethiopia during their civil war. Buildings were constructed at that time as schools, a clinic, and other administrative buildings.

While the northern Arabs from Khartoum were occupying the south, the NIF army stripped the buildings of everything worthwhile, such as metal roofing, windows, doors and their frames. Rafters and anything of any use at all was taken. The subsequent weather brought further disintegration and ruin. Some bricks walls still were standing. It lay totally abandoned.

At this point, 400 acres have been cleared, and much of it planted in maize (corn), beans, sorghum, and other staple foods. A small nursery was established. Wells were refurbished and produce pure clean water.

These are some of the tractors at Logobero.

We have had to change farm managers because of an inefficient and self-serving manager on the Logobero farm.

Land mines still exists in most of the small, now overgrown roads, and only those essential to the use of the few vehicles in the area have been cleared of mines. Still, even on those ‘cleared’ roads, there are occasional and deadly explosions.

A Canadian farmer and his wife will move onto this farm after Christmas 2005 to manage and re- establish the farm. A house is being prepared for him. There are no services whatever, other than the well for water. Throughout southern Sudan, what electrical services were available have been destroyed. There are no telephones. The roads are labouriously rugged and have remained unimproved for twenty-three years - none of them have pavement.

This farm is located by a small river and has the potential for irrigation when rains are insufficient It will also able to produce hydro-electrical power on a falls in the river if the required turbines become available.

(2) - Morobu SFC Farm located half way between the Uganda/Sudan border, and the ruined city of Yei. A few hundred acres only are in production at this point. The Manager, Mr. Isaac Onyinda is a former Commercial Airline Pilot and is working for very little income to make this farm produce. The crops, such as groundnuts are growing very well. He needs prayer since it has been discovered he has cancer. Isaac Onyinda, the farm manager stands at the edge of a field of groundnuts to the right.

This is the largest field of groundnuts (peanuts) every seen in this area, and is part of the Morobu SFC Farm.

Just down the road from this field are other field. In March of 2004, one of the SFC tractors was travelling on a road used daily to get to some of th fields of the Morobo farm. They were returning from one of the fields, pulling a wagon with workers on it, when they heard a large explosion behind them. A land mine, left by the Arab army, had blown up a vehicle just a short distance behind them. The people were evacuated, but some died. Subsequently, we had the road swept for mines, and we hope we got them all.

Starting these farms is risky, not because of weather or soil. The conditions are good. The remnants of civil conflict, and the total lack of goods and services makes it a near impossible job. Yet the people involved are determined to show success, and to break the ‘dependency syndrome’ which has gripped the southern black African population for years.

(3) - Romogi SFC Farm - just on the outskirts of the demolished town of Kajokeji.

This farm is run by Mr. Zamba Duku (Brigadier General) with on-the-ground oversight by Joseph Kenyi. It has been one of the most successful, and was almost to the place of self-sustaining its own operation. But, problems happen.

Nearby is the ruined town of Kajokeji. About 7,000 people stayed in Kajokeji and area during the whole occupation, then the ridding of the area of the Arab occupiers from the northern Government army. In about March of 2004, the Peace Talks began to look most promising. As a result 37,000 people swarmed back into the area to re-settle on their land and to try to begin building mud houses and planting crops. The problem was that the 7,000 who had been semi-settled, had grown only enough food for themselves. Emergency feeding had to begin under various Relief organisations and the UN. Zamba Duku, the manager of the farm at Romogi was called in to help.

Meanwhile a fifty acre field of cassava had ripened and was ready to harvest. The returning refugees found it, and within 36 - 48 hours, the field was empty of this new high production hybrid cassava. That was a direct lost of about $25,000 ( US) in value, which set the farm back at least a year. The law was not invoked for the simple reason that the food was in fact grown for the hungry. They got it. (Also read Prov. 6:30)

We will simply keep up farming new crops, selling them to relief organisations, and using those funds to improve and develop the field in the Romogi SFC farm.

Three tractors are in view in this photo.

Mr. Zamba Duku, the farm manager is in the middle. Cal Bombay is to his right, and Mr. Fred Weening, who supplied the 231S Massey Ferguson tractors at cost price, is standing to Duku’s left in the blue shirt. Joseph Kenyi is on the extreme left.

This location is the “compound” in which the workers live and where all the farming machinery is kept at nights.

Each of the farms has a secure compound so that all materials, equipment and workers can have relative safety, and control of who comes and goes is maintained at the front gate.

(4) - Moje SFC Farm - Located north-east of the Logobero farms over terrible ‘roads’.

Moje farm is the most recent ‘model farm’ to be started. Land is just now being cleared, and access to the area improved, including the re-opening of roads which have not been maintained for the last 23 years. The Manager of this farm has been terminated, and a new Manager is about to be installed.

This is an example of a main road. The roads in to the farms is much more difficult and slow.

As can be seen, movement is not fast, getting bogged down is common, and progress is measured in hours, not miles or kilometres.

Getting the machinery and equipment into each location is a tedious job. Fuel is not locally available, but must be hauled in from the Uganda/Sudan border in the south.

Only tenacity and a strong will to bring the southern Sudanese back to a place of dignity and self-dependency has driven all who are involved in the Savannah Farmers Cooperative to continue against all odds.

Those helping from outside Sudan are many and various. Individuals and churches support the work financially, and with a great deal of prayer. You are invited to join their ranks.

The people working on the ground in Sudan are also highly qualified. The picture here shown are from left to right. Joseph Kenyi of the Romogi SFC Farm. Cal Bombay, Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of SFC Central Committee (with Mr. Steven Wondu, not here shown). Brigadier General Zamba Duku in the red shirt, Farm Manager at Romogi near KajoKeji.

Mr. Fred Weening (in blue shirt) who supplied the Massey Ferguson 231S Tractors at cost price for shipping to Sudan. Far right, Mr. Isaac Onyango who was a commercial airline pilot, but is now serving as Farm Manager at the Morobu SFC farm.

Please browse our other pages about the Savannah Farmers Cooperative for more information about the whole operation, personnel, plans and financial standards of the SFC.

(5) - Bori SFC Farm - The Bori farm is the first of fifty new 2,000 acre farms under the auspices of the Savannah Farmers Cooperative in Southern Sudan. Already over 700 acres are growing grain on this farm. Most of the acreage was cleared by hand. Some was done with our largest tractors.

When the lease was signed for this land with the local authorities, both civil and government, we had expected to receive only the 2,000 acres. When the lease was presented for signing to the SFC, we were asked to take ALL the land between the Bori farm and the Uganda border, and to develop it into productive farms. That amounted to well over 100,000 acres (or faddans – as they are called in Sudan).

As strange as it may seem, in September of 2006, Cal Bombay felt the Lord drop it into his heart that he sponsor the building 50 new farms in the next ten years – 2,000 acres each. It seemed impossible at the time. Suddenly this land was literally dropped into our laps. We have accepted the challenge, though it will cost millions of dollars.

The Bori farm is the first of these 50 new farms. Now, with two bulldozers bought by Cal Bombay Ministries, the clearing of land has become a much more efficient and cost effective operation.

Cal Bombay will be going to Sudan in July of 2008, and will bring back pictures of this new farm, and other sites where farms will begin."