By James Innocent
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has expressed its commitment to bolstering the agricultural sector in Yei River County, Central Equatoria State.
Pur Telar, the head of FAO field office in Central Equatoria, State remarked after the successful workshop conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO, and the Rural Women for Development Organization South Sudan, funded by the World Bank.
“We are currently supporting three cooperative groups within Yei River County, despite some groups being affected by the conflicts in South Sudan,” Telar assured the participants.
“We also believe that in the coming years, food supply to other places from Yei will not be a problem.”
Head of the Cooperative Union, identified only as Lagu, expressed his delight at the training, stating that it has provided clarity on monitoring and evaluation.
He revealed that 45 cooperative societies in Yei require capacity building due to the current situation in South Sudan, to enable them to effectively manage their resources. One of the partners, Rural Women, has formed over 20 cooperative groups to boost agriculture in Yei River County.
Lagu encouraged the cooperative groups to work diligently in supporting the groups in Yei River County to combat hunger in South Sudan.
Yei River County Commissioner, Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa, emphasized the importance of sacrifice and hard work to ensure lasting peace in the county.
He advised the participants to put the knowledge gained from the training into practice so that others can learn from their successes.
Gama Joseph, a representative from the County Agriculture Department, commended the partners for conducting the insightful workshop for both the government and cooperative groups.
He acknowledged that while all five payams in the county have been covered by the livelihood partners, there have been lapses in supervising some of the ongoing activities.
The two-day workshop, organized by FAO at the ECS Guest House in Yei River County, Central Equatoria State, served as a platform to reinforce the commitment of the international community, through the FAO, to support the agricultural development in this vital region of South Sudan.