Agriculture in South Sudan
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Credit: Jared Ferrie/IPSSouth Sudan is rich in natural resources like minerals and timber. The most important resource is oil, from which 98 percent of the government's revenues are derived. The vulnerability due to overreliance on oil was shown during the 2012 shutdown and looming August 2013 shutdown triggered by disagreements with the Khartoum government.
Picture shows soldiers patrolling an oil field in Paloug, in South Sudan's Upper Nile state
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Credit: FAOOne of the most significant impacts of the shut down was an acute food insecurity. A 2013 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) indicates that even though total and average cereal yields increased in 2012, "about 40% of the population of South Sudan was moderately to severely food insecure" in the second half of the year.
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Credit: UNEPProlonged conflict, lack of infrastructure and high transportation costs have for a long time prohibited citizens of South Sudan from practicing commercially viable agriculture.
Picture shows a man preparing a piece of land for cultivation.
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Credit: WFP JubaThe country covers an area of 650,000 km² (251,000 mi²). Although 50% of the land is arable for prime food and cash crop agriculture, only 4% is under signifcant cultivation, and only 3% of that land is irrigated.
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Credit: FAO/Giuseppe CarotenutoThe Government of South Sudan has been encouraging and coercing the citizens to practice agriculture to diversify the economy and to reduce the food insecurity. For example, the government has begun a program of issuing land, seeds and farm equipment to the ever higher numbers of returning refugees.
Picture shows Betty Achan Ogwaro, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Cooperatives and Rural Development of South Sudan
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Credit: Rob Groot/IFDCThe government has also been getting assistance from international partners. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) have been supporting programs to reintegrate former soldiers and their families back into society.
From left to right: Jim Bromley, AGRA chief operating officer; Dr. Amit Roy, IFDC president and CEO; H. E. Anne Itto, South Sudan's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry; Dr. Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator; and Robbert van Lanschot, first secretary of the Dutch Embassy in South Sudan after signing a communiqué to Promote Food Security in South Sudan.
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Credit: Hou Akot Hou/VOAThe Ministry of Social Services and 'Veterans WIthout Borders' recently gave goats to former street kids so that they can then fend for themselves.
Some of the scores of goats to be distributed to children in Northern Bahr el Ghazal wait inside their transport vehicle.
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Credit: Jean Di Marino/FAOFAO and USAID have been running seed fairs and supporting the ‘Seeds for Development' (S4D) Project respectively. Farmers use vouchers to purchase highly subsidised seed and fertilizer through these programs.
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Credit: Alun McDonald/OxfamIn 2012, the government introduced the Comprehensive Agricultural Development Master Plan (CAMP) as a longtime policy guideline towards food security. One of the goals is to shift from small scale subsistence farming to more extensive agriculture to produce enough food for year-round consumption and sale.
Picture shows a farmer in Lakes State, South Sudan
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Credit: Angela Stephens/USAIDIn addition, the government has been urging farmers to form associations which the government can support to acquire modern equipment like tractors. Most farmers in South Sudan use simple tools like hand-held hoes, which are not only labor intensive but also innefficient.
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Credit: Flickr/OXFAMFarmers who have received seed and extension services from government officers have been receiving bumper harvests. Some farmers have received increases in harvests by up to 300% due to use of fertilizer, which the farmers had been hesitant to use previously.
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Credit: Jean Di Marino/FAOOthers have even been able to sell their surplus.
Picture shows sellers bring harvested seed to Morobo's Seed Fair
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Credit: Plan International AustraliaEven though the present status of agriculture looks precarious, the Governement of South Sudan hopes that with increased extension services, adoption of modern technology, and support from donors and international organizations will lead to a permanent solution to the food shortage problem.
Angelo Bernard Badi stands amid a potato crop at a local farm in Magwi
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