By Matik Kueth
King News Sept 25th, 2024 – A clergyman for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and a peace envoy for the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC), Moses Deng, urged the government to invest in agriculture in order to boost food production in the country.
Speaking at Dr. John Garang Primary School in Juba on Wednesday, at the launch of the campaign to end child hunger, Deng appealed to the national government to give agriculture top priority so that enough food could be supplied to all South Sudanese citizens.
“At the church, we are requesting and appealing to our government to prioritize agriculture and to provide enough food for children and their communities, and to ensure that there are open spaces for children to play in all estates,” Pr. Deng said.
He said a sufficient and well-balanced diet, together with regular exercise, are essential for children to grow up healthily and perform perfectly in school.
“For a child to grow in station, he, she needs to have an adequate food and a balanced diet, as well as physical exercise,” he stressed.
The religious leader’s plea to the government to invest in agriculture is imperative for South Sudan to move swiftly toward building agricultural programs for the country’s food production.
Large wetlands in South Sudan’s landscape make it an ideal location for agricultural plantations that could help reduce food insecurity and boost the country’s economy.
On April 3th, 2024, during the opening of the NTLA’s first session, President Salva Kiir urged South Sudanese citizens to invest in food production as a way to boost the nation’s economy.
“South Sudan is blessed with abundant rainfall and fertile land suitable for agriculture. I urge every citizen to invest in food production,” Kiir said.
He added, “We must diversify our revenue sources and enhance local agricultural productivity to lessen our dependence on food imports, which deplete our foreign exchange reserves.”
Kiir instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to rejuvenate old agricultural schemes across the country to enhance food production.
However, on September 6, 2024, during the 9th FOCAC Summit, Kiir pledged to modernize agriculture in order to boost food production in South Sudan.
“My country remains committed to transforming the agriculture sector from the current local consumption to commercialized farming to achieve food security, create jobs, increase income and reduce poverty,” he stated.
According to him, modernizing agriculture through the use of cutting-edge technologies is one of South Sudan’s top priorities in order to enhance food production and foster trade.
Kiir further appealed to China to provide opportunities for South Sudanese and Chinese professionals to exchange training and to improve the technical competence of South Sudanese to oversee the modernization process of the agriculture sector.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), over 7.7 million people struggle with food insecurity.
Flooding that occurred four years in a row has been linked to climate change, worsened food production problems, and destroyed farmer livelihoods.