The commissioner of Nyepo County in South Sudan’s Yei River state said that the influx of cattle keeping communities is interrupting farming activities in the area.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Commissioner Julius Lokonga said internally displaced persons, who voluntarily returned to their villages, are finding it difficult to practice farming.
He said attempts to regulate livestock movements have failed as the armed men defy orders from the local authorities.
“The northern part of Nyepo County [Kaya, Rojo and Lori villages] has been occupied by cattle keepers. That also frustrates the returnees who want to settle. The cattle keepers move with their animals and guns from one place to another,” said Lokonga.
“The behavior of cattle keepers is frustrating farmers, because they move with animals into farms where people are cultivating. We received farming implements distributed by Titi Foundation. People here are not used to seeing guns and always ask whether they are safe to go farming because they are scared,” he added.
The commissioner urged the people of South Sudan to remain hopeful and support implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
“My message to the people is to join hands in ensuring smooth implementation of the peace agreement because citizens have a responsibility to make sure the agreement is implemented. We need reconciliation to move forward,” he said.
Rose Peter, a local resident, said her family members cannot cultivate large hectares of land for fear of being attacked by the armed cattle keepers.
“I am not happy, we are not at peace and even if we are at peace, we cannot move freely to our farms and fetch water without fear,” she said.
In 2017, President Salva Kiir ordered cattle keepers from Jonglei state who graze their animals in parts of Equatoria to return home as farmers in the region complain about cattle destroying their crops.