Kiir calls for increased food production to avoid relief dependency
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August 29, 2011 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit on
Sunday called on citizens of the newly independent nation to increase
food production to reduce reliance on aid and enable the country to
export food to neighboring countries.
JPEG - 52.1 kb
A woman scoops up dried beans at a food distribution point for
internally displaced south Sudanese by the World Food Program January
17, 2011 in the town of Yambio, south Sudan (AFP)
Addressing a congregation at Kator Cathedral in Juba on Sunday the
president of Africa’s 54th state said that after independence from
North Sudan had been achieved, citizens must now focus on nation
building.
“Are we serious people? Indeed do all of us know why we voted almost
unanimously in favor of secession from united Sudan? If we are serious
people, we should now concentrate on finding ways and means to build a
peace and prosperous nation controlling our own food security, trade
and energy resources”, Kiir said.
The country has 82 million hectares of land, but only about 4% of the
land is farmed. At the time of independence on July 9, 10% of South
Sudan’s the land had already been leased to foreign investors.
“Most of us know why food is scarce," Kiir said. "I know the simple
answer each of you would give me is that people stopped farming
because of insecurity, especially after seeing their harvests looted
over and over again by the several military groups."
Cattle raiding, banditry and various localised rebel groups make
ensuring security in South Sudan difficult.
"Also during war, everything was coming from Khartoum. As such, our
people have grown accustomed to being handed food without working for
it, and occasionally rations from the World Food Programme (WFP)”,
explained the leader of the South Sudan’s ruling party, the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The president said the practice of depending on relief assistance must
stop because the country is no longer at war with its neighboring
state of north Sudan.
Earlier this year prices of food in South Sudan skyrocketed after the
North stopped flow of cargo through river and road transport.
(ST)
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