Rice harvesting in Aweil Scheme is said to have been hindered by a lack of tools and manpower.

The Northern Bahr el Ghazal state Minister of Agriculture said that there are not enough farmers and tools to keep the scheme going.

Ayii Bol told Eye Radio that the farm is too large for the few workers in the field.

Mr. Bol said the Aweil Rice Scheme can feed the whole state if given more support:

“For this year the harvesting is going to delay because the production this year is too huge and it will not finish because of the ongoing crisis in the country,” Mr Bol told Eye Radio.

“We’re now pushing the farmers to hurry-up with the rice harvesting because the more the delay, the more the rice dries up, and the content is going to be less, and the breakage during the milling will be huge.”

Ayii said the lack of mechanized systems of harvesting is still one of the major challenges facing rice production in Aweil.

Aweil Rice Scheme is a national project which was established during the British rule in the late 1940’s.

In 2012, the German-based humanitarian agency, GIZ which provided funds for the scheme pulled out, leaving it to be funded by the government.

The state Minister of Agriculture, Ayii Bol said that farmers take up to one month to harvest three thousand fedans due to the lack of enough workers and tools.