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| Staff Stories Cornelious Kwoji – Food Security Advisor  Cornelious Kwoji, FAR’s Food Security Advisor, knows first-hand what it is to be an internally displaced person. Originally from Sudan’s southern Kuku tribe, Cornelious now lives in Khartoum, Sudan’s northern Capital and home to FAR’s head office. After eight years away from home, Cornelious continues to long to go to the South. God willing or insh’Allah as they say in Sudan, he will one day return home. Cornelious came to FAR eight years ago with a wealth of experience and education. He studied agriculture in both Uganda and Scotland and worked for the Southern Sudanese government’s Ministry of Agriculture in research and development. He began with FAR in Kordofan as Program Coordinator; later working in both Kosti and Renk. In 2003, he agreed to move to FAR’s headquarters, in part, because Khartoum, home to many of Sudan’s universities, is where his wife and children lived. Cornelious was keen to see his eight children complete their education. The causes of displacement in Sudan are varied; conflict and uneven distribution of wealth and amenities are at the root of much movement. Today all but one of Cornelious’s children have finished their schooling. Unfortunately, the home that Cornelious and his family left in the South has been destroyed – making a return difficult. As household food security advisor, Cornelious’s work is central to FAR. Food security projects assist people in producing enough food to feed their families and FAR facilitates agricultural extension education and provides seeds and tools to farmers in need. Displacement makes subsistence farmers and their families vulnerable to hunger. FAR currently runs eight projects that seek to increase the quantity and quality of crops produced by Sudan's farmers. Sustainability, according to Cornelious, is one of the biggest challenges to development work generally and food security particularly. Community ownership is essential for longevity: Cornelious is working with projects to introduce “phasing out strategies” that ensure the smooth handing over of operations from FAR staff to beneficiaries. “Physical resources, such as seeds, are among the most difficult to sustain after a project is complete”, says Cornelious. He cites Dilling’s food security project, which is funded by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, among FAR’s sustainability successes. In 2007 groups of farmers received three bags of seeds from FAR; by the end of the season most groups had harvested between seven and fifteen bags of seeds. Each repaid a portion to the village seed bank for use in the coming year. Cornelious hopes that by replenishing seed banks farmers will no longer rely on aid in the future. |
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