The African Development Bank has signed off a grant to improve agricultural productivity and boost the marketing and trade of agricultural products in South Sudan.
The $14 million funding to the government of South Sudan will be executed by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO.
The bank believes South Sudan has a considerable unrealized agricultural potential, but the effects of continued violence combined with unprecedented flooding have seriously damaged food production.
It also says South Sudan’s low level of agricultural value addition is the inefficient marketing infrastructure that prevents farmers and processors from realizing the full value of their produce.
This has resulted in the country importing heavily from neighboring countries.
In a statement seen by Eye Radio, the African Development Bank said the five-year project will help increase the productivity and incomes of almost 20,000 farming families in Central and Eastern Equatoria, including Jonglei states.
Most of the beneficiaries will be former internally displaced persons who have now returned to their homes.
The project, the bank said, will provide farmers, traders, including women and youth with new skills and agro-processing equipment they need to produce competitive products.
Twenty business centers will be established to serve as ‘one-stop shops’ where farmers can access extension services and connect to markets for their value-added products.
It added that farmer groups joining the aggregation centers will also have their products tested and quality certified and sold to the private sector on their behalf.
The Bank and FAO announced the establishment of two mini testing laboratories in Central and Eastern Equatoria states to strengthen the safety and quality of local agricultural products.
This, they say, will enable farmers to test and certify their value-added products, particularly cereals, oilseeds and maize, before selling them.
Experts say South Sudan’s agricultural sector contributes only one-tenth of the GDP due to constant violence, political instability and insufficient funding for the sector.
However, FAO Representative in South Sudan, Meshack Malo said the contribution from the African Development Bank will now help farmers move faster from subsistence to commercial farming through the introduction of new technologies, markets and linkages with other services and actors.
South Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Planning, Athian Ding Athian, who attended the signing ceremony on Wednesday said the funds will build an improved marketing and trade environment for agribusinesses, increasing people’s incomes and creating new jobs, particularly for the youth.
He stated that this is in line with the government’s efforts to diversify the economy away from oil to long-term growth based on promoting agribusiness development.
The grants are released under the Agricultural Markets, Value Addition and Trade Development project.
It will be implemented by FAO in close coordination with South Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.