A top government official working for agriculture ministry in the proposed Yei River State said this year’s food production is likely to decline sharply due to insecurity.
Edmond Taban Gogo, Director General at the Agriculture Ministry, told Radio Tamazuj that local farmers in rural areas had abandoned their farms over security concerns.
“The insecurity has really affected the agriculture, because many of the farmers ran way without hoes this is because of harassment. So they left some of their crops like groundnuts and maize without harvest” said Gogo.
The government official called for restoration of peace and stability in an attempt to alleviate a possible food shortage in the state. He also advised the state government to persuade the local farmers to return to their villages for cultivation.
“I expect the government to negotiate with these people so that they go back to farming because hunger is more deadly than the bullets “he said.
For his part, Gale Peter, a local farmer from Mugwo payam, confirmed that most of the farmers fled to neighbouring Uganda.“Here in Mugwo payam, most of the farmers are no longer active in the field due to continuing fighting in the payam” said Gale.
“You go to farm, the rebels in the bushes will threaten to kill you and when you return back home the SPLA soldiers deployed in the area will threaten to kill you, saying farmers are rebels. So in these conflicting cases most of us are no longer in the area and many have gone out of the country” he explained.
File photo: Edmond Taban