South Sudan’s Kiir urges citizens to prioritize agriculture

December 29, 2019 (LURI) – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has urged citizens to prioritize agriculture to boost the nation’s economy.

He was flanked by the first lady Mary Ayen Mayardit and the country’s first vice president Taban Deng Gai during the launch.

Kiir, the presidential press unit reported, also witnessed harvest of beans, groundnuts, sorghum, maize and rice produced by Luri Farm Ltd. and Freedom Farm Limited.

But despite the huge agricultural potential it possessed, only about 5% of South Sudan’s land is cultivated, yet the country also offers abundant water resources in the Nile basin, and forestry assets are plentiful, with tens of thousands of hectares of teak and other high-value hardwoods available for sustainable harvesting.

In 2012, President Kiir announced a goal to achieve food self-sufficiency in the country. That year, the agriculture ministry launched the national effort for agricultural transformation, and started to identify agricultural opportunities for foreign investors and agribusinesses.

(ST)