South Sudanese farmers with food surplus cut off from market
This contradiction arises because parts of the country are disconnected from each other, largely due to the on-going armed conflict. Some areas are now completely cut off from the rest of the country.
As Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states face acute food shortages, citizens in Jamara, in Laniya County about 80 miles southwest of Juba, have ample food.
Sarah Kiden, one of the village residents, says her family of twelve gets enough to eat. She stores most of her harvests in her six granaries, each one containing up to one and a half trucks full of food. But most of it she does not get to consume.
There is plenty of food in my family farm.”I prepare breakfast in the morning. I prepare some food for lunch,” says Kiden, who grows cassava, beans, maize, groundnuts and other crops. There is plenty of food in my family farm. But also, there is food I get from my (farmers) group farm.”
Just like Kiden, the majority of the residents in Jamara, Central Equatoria State, are farmers. Most of them work in groups of about 25 — farming hundreds of acres.
Kiden is aware that some parts of her country are desperately short of food and wishes there was a market to sell their food surplus. Conflict in many parts of the country has deterred Kiden and other residents from taking their goods to new markets.
South Sudan is in the throes of more than 18-months of violent conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives and has forced millions to flee their homes.
The Agriculture Commissioner of Laniya County, Paul Longlo, says he is aware of the farmers’ problems but cannot solve them. But I want to encourage them (the farmers) to continue, although the government cannot be able to carry on (continue) assisting them,” he says.
The turmoil in South Sudan continues to spread, leaving locals with little faith in on-off peace talks between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar in Addis Ababa.
People have food, yes — and now they want money.”Kiden’s village and others nearby have been assisted by NGOs who help them hone their farming methods. According to Abraham Latigo, who works for the organisation ZOA, the farmers have already put their new knowledge into practice.
However, the war needs to calm down before farmers can start to benefit economically, as farmers cannot transport their produce to where it is most needed. People have food, yes — and now they want money,” Latigo says.
Kiden says patience is wearing thin among farmers in her area. She wants to reduce the time she spends on farming. It is a waste to farm. It is no use to continue farming on a big scale. There is no market for the products after all,” she explains.
She adds that she hopes the violence would end soon, allowing her and fellow farmers to reach potential markets, especially the areas facing severe food shortages.
