By Hou Akot Hou
Northern Bahr el Ghazal state of South Sudan has commenced land preparations ahead of the upcoming planting season.
A delegation of national deputy minister of agriculture, Lilly Albino Akol, reached Aweil Town, on Tuesday, to launch the program.
Accompanied by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) representatives, the deputy minister officiated the Wednesday occasion.
Raising awareness on the importance of early land preparation for this year’s crop season, the event also showcases commitment of the government and partners to address the widespread food insecurity in the country and the region.
The deputy Minister emphasized that their visit aimed to assess the severity of food insecurity faced by the local population, particularly in light of the return of a large number of people to the state.
She expressed the intent to promote food production through initiatives such as the Aweil Rice Scheme, where they would launch messages regarding land preparations.
“We are in the state to find out how food insecure the local population are. And our intent is to encourage the production of food through various initiatives such as having Aweil Rice Scheme where we shall launch the land preparations messages,” Lilly said.
“I would also like to tell every member of household to get engage in production of food be it subsistence farming or other methods of putting food on the table. As a nation, we can’t be well off when we rely on imports,” she added.
State governor Tong Aken Ngor also discussed the challenges his state government faced, including the influx of returnees and refugees.
Despite these difficulties, he assured the visiting delegation that they were working tirelessly to address food insecurity as a top priority.
Governor Tong expressed gratitude for the continuous support provided by the UN FAO to the state government and its citizens across various sectors.