View of part of the Aweil Rice Scheme in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State. |31st May 2022. |Credit: Emmanuel J. Akile/Eye Radio.

Farmers in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State do not have farming tools and machinery to boost agricultural activities in the area, the state government said.

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Environment Anei Deng Akok said there are no irrigation systems, tractors, and spare parts.

In a meeting with Governor Tong Aken Ngor and the Aweil Rice Scheme Project Manager on Wednesday, Minister Deng also said climate change factors like the seasonal flooding, have adversely affected the state.

According to him, his ministry has installed 41 rain-gauges in the payams and at the Ministry Headquarters to record rainfall capacity over time.

Meanwhile, Governor Tong Aken Ngor urged the Ministry of Agriculture to extend serious campaigns to encourage citizens to cultivate massively during this farming season.

Aken also directed the Agriculture Ministry to ask the concerned partners to distribute the seeds to the farmers early in this agricultural season.

The state farmers have been calling on both the national and state governments to revive the defunct Aweil rice scheme project.

The Aweil Rice Scheme is a national farming project established by the Sudanese government in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, during the British rule in the late 1940’s.

It is the biggest rice farm in the country so far, stretching over about 11,000 hectares.

However, since the South Sudan government inherited the scheme, production has been crippled and only 3,000 hectares are being cultivated.