Government Rallies Residents to Tackle Food Insecurity
Northern Bahr el Ghazal State residents have been urged to engage in agricultural production in a bid to tackle an imminent food crisis.
Groundnuts plantation in Akuem village, Aweil East County in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State [Gurtong]
AWEIL, 21 June 2012 [Gurtong] – The State Governor Paul Malong has advised the state residents to remain in the rural areas and engage in agriculture instead of migrating to urban centres.
“Let’s stop loitering around towns during the rainy season. I urge the youth to get back to the rural areas and cultivate their farms instead of spending most of their leisure times in local clubs playing cards”, said Malong when he addressed the official re-opening of the State Legislative Assembly last Friday.
He appealed to the state legislators to join the citizenry in efforts to eradicate hunger in the state.
“I will soon embark on a campaign to create awareness on how to increase food production”, he said.
Northern Bahr el Ghazal State faces severe famine as food prices continue skyrocketing.
A recent humanitarian report and environmental review shows that most families are facing hunger as food supplies dwindle by the day.
Rain failure and unpredictable weather patterns have contributed to the situation as most families are forced to fend for alternative food sources.
Major agricultural projects in the state have been badly hit with the rice harvest in South Sudan’s leading rice producer, Aweil Rice Scheme falling by 20 percent while sorghum (dura) harvest fell by 34 percent.
For the first time in 20 years, hundreds of families have been forced to sell assets, including livestock in efforts to tackle the food deficit
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