Gov’t, WFP sign deal to boost agricultural production
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and a food agency have penned a three-year deal to fight the food crisis in the country.
The cooperation is intended to promote agriculture and food security, enhance early warning systems; strengthen resilience, and support adaptation in South Sudan.
The agreement between the ministry and the World Food Program (WFP) will further enhance the capacity of the ministry to equip farmers with skills to produce food for both subsistence and the market to improve their livelihoods.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, John Ogoto Kanisio, represented the ministry, while WFP South Sudan Acting Country Representative, Adeyinka Badejo, signed on behalf of her organization.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Kanisio said the agreement would enable South Sudan to realise its agricultural potential by building farmers’ capacity in line with the ministry’s comprehensive master plan.
“We will be working together to identify ways to build and enhance the capacity of rural farmers to produce and meet their own food needs, ’’ Kanisio said.
“We are committed to working together with WFP to address food security in the country.”
Kanisio added that the framework will improve security, eradicate dependence, and build resilience and self-resilience among the communities across the country.
Badejo reaffirmed WFP’s commitment to working together with the government to address food security in the country.
She stressed that peace and stability are the only pillars needed for achieving a “food secure” South Sudan.
“The WFP’s goal and priority are to see a food-secure South Sudan, and our strategy over the coming years is to scale up our resilience intervention because we know there is enormous potential agricultural potential in South Sudan,” Badejo said.
She said WFP believes South Sudan could attain self-sufficiency, reduce reliance on imports for its food, and contribute to feeding its neighbours and the entire African continent, but “the only ingredient is peace and stability.”
South Sudan is facing one of the worst food insecurities with an estimated 65 percent – more than half of the country’s population is facing severe hunger this year.
Subnational violence and climatic shocks exacerbated by the country’s poor infrastructure have just added more misery on the people in need in South Sudan.
