Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:02 am
Thursday, February 4, 2021. The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday signed a $ 14 million grant to South Sudanese government farmers to boost agricultural markets through a project implemented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The bank’s purpose in providing the aid to South Sudan is to boost agricultural markets, trade and production and marketing. The project will be implemented in collaboration with the FAO and the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security.
According to The African news, the five-year project in South Sudan will help increase production and income for nearly 20,000 farming families in Central and Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei provinces.
RELATED NEWS: AfDB Set To Donate $6.5bn To Support Countries In The Sahel
South Sudan The vast majority of the country’s 84% of the country’s poor live in rural areas. South Sudan has been plagued by war and political strife between its breakaway country, Sudan. During this time, South Sudan faced a crisis of production and the country was plunged into civil war, forcing people to flee their farms, where production was declining. Other disputes included oil revenues that have been controversial since they were part of Sudan.
The project, donated by the South Sudan to the African Development Bank, aims to create business and employment opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs, including women and youth. AFDB is working to provide new skills and agricultural production equipment to farmers to produce quality produce. It will create more than twenty aggregate trading centers that will serve as ‘one-stop shops’ where farmers can access extension services and connect to their valuable produce markets.
Athian Ding Athian, South Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Planning, said at the signing ceremony that “diverse economies away from oil and long-term growth depend on agricultural development.” He thanked the African Development Bank for its continued support.
In 2017, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved an additional US $ 14.57 million loan for the African Development Fund (ADF) to rehabilitate and expand distribution networks in Juba, South Sudan. UN agencies have long sought to restore the country’s productivity and have implemented a number of projects in poor agricultural areas.
