Warrap state suffering food shortages

March 31, 2015 (WAU) – Authorities in South Sudan’s Warrap state said its
citizens are suffering amid worsening food shortages.

State information minister Paul Dhel Gum told Sudan Tribune the current situation was linked to poor crop harvests following last year’s heavy floods.

He said Warrap state’s poor road connections and lack of access to neighbouring
states was also compounding the problem.

According to Gum, the worst-affected areas are Tonj East and Gogria East counties.

“The situation of our people will go worse if not urgently looked into,” said Gum, calling on humanitarian agencies to provide urgent support.

“We also need our national government [and] ministry of finance to support our business people financially to supply food items in the markets since shops have run out of food stocks,” he added.

Meanwhile, commodities prices have also skyrocketed beyond the means of local people and even if farmers manage to sell their cattle in the market there is no foodstuffs to buy.

“The suffering of Warrap state citizens will go beyond people in [the] most war-affected areas in the country,” said Gum, who told Sudan Tribune many families were already resorting to eating forest fruits and leaves.

While the security situation continues to improve with neighbouring Unity state, good trade relations have yet to be established and cross-border cattle raids continues to pose a major threat.

(ST)