Mabior Garang de Mabior, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the National Conversation South Sudan speaking to Eye Radio in Juba - Credit | Lou Nelson/Eye Radio | May 14, 2022

The son of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, Mabior Garang has urged young people to be self-reliant by embarking on agriculture.

Mabior who is the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the National Conversation South Sudan says the youth should not rely on the government to offer them jobs.

He believes South Sudan has vast land ready for young people to cultivate and earn good wages.

Since 2005, agriculture has severely been neglected despite its huge economic potential.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture organization, only about five percent of the land in South Sudan is cultivated.

Currently, South Sudan still largely depends on oil to fund its national budget.

Mabior Garang says this should change.

“We cannot all make money from crude oil, and they say oil has been sold up to 2027. All of us cannot get a government job. Some of us will have to find other ways of wealth creation and farming is the best way to commit poor people to develop,” Mabior told Eye Radio in an exclusive interview in Juba on Saturday.

“The National Conversation South Sudan Youth Agricultural farm wants to share our knowledge, experience and expertise.”

In 2015, President Kiir donated 1,000 tractors to the states to support farmers, but the tractors were reportedly privatized by state government officials.

The son of late Dr. John Garang who is leading what he calls the “Tomato Renaissance” says there is a need to educate and support young people in the rural areas to understand the agri-business industry.

“There is a component missing for the youth in the town to be able to take advantage of agri-business, which is the building of the youth in the villages,” Mabior said.

“There is a lot that we can do, dairy industry. But for us to go into dairy it is very expensive, so we did not start with it because it is a more expensive investment. We will get to that, like animal fats, butter, cheese, the cow alone is an industry.”