Mr. David Ashley, His Majesty’s new Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan – Courtesy of the British Embassy in Juba.

The United Kingdom Ambassador to South Sudan David Ashley called on the transitional government to address ceasefire violations and improve security to ensure conducive environment for agricultural production and investment.

Ambassador Ashley made the remark in a meeting with Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Hassan Hussein Abdel Baqi on Thursday.

The diplomat emphasized the UK’s ongoing support for humanitarian and resilience programs, particularly in Upper Nile State.

“It will be important that the government takes steps to end these ceasefire violations and to provide security,” he said, in a statement to state-owned television SSBC.

“Because without security, it’s hard to get people to farm and it’s hard to get investors to invest money in agriculture in South Sudan. That’s something which the minister and I agreed on.”

Mr. Ashley stated that for agriculture to thrive, security is crucial and without it, farmers will struggle to work, and investors will not commit their resources.

South Sudan’s economy depends almost entirely on revenue from oil export through neighboring Sudan.

However, the civil war that erupted in Khartoum in April 2023 and the subsequent withdrawal of Malaysian oil firm Petronas, severely disrupted the oil production and sale, depriving the country’s coffers of oil income.

For the past year, civil servants and members of the organized forces in South Sudan have not been paid more than 10 months of their salaries as the national government struggled to meet its expenditures.

UN agencies have warned of an alarming humanitarian crisis in South Sudan where more than half the country’s population will go hungry in 2025.

President Salva Kiir – in his New Year address – declared 2025 as a year of farming and said his government will embark on agriculture to enhance food security in the country.

He assured the country of his government’s commitment to address the looming hunger and directed the Ministry of Agriculture to redouble its efforts and support the farmers across the country to boost and improve productivity.

However, several parts of the country, including Western Equatoria, Upper Nile and Western Bahr el Ghazal, have recently been gripped by insecurity and deadly political violence that forced thousands out of their homes.