Farmers in Jur River County in Western Bahr el-Ghazal have urged their cattle keeper counterparts from Warrap State to keep their livestock away from the farmlands until next January.
The appeal is part of the 2016 Marial-Bai agreement between the Western Bahr el-Ghazal farmers and Warrap cattle herders.
The agreement came after a peacekeeping mission and the governments of the two states convinced the communities to sign a deal to mitigate the risks of clashes.
The two communities in 2012 to 2016 engaged in a conflict, which claimed many lives and occasioned massive destruction to property.
The Marial Bai deal was the first agreement on seasonal cattle movement between Warrap and Western Bahr el-Ghazal.
It prescribed compensation for resources destroyed by animals, or the animals killed by farmers, and the procedures for the mobile courts to settle conflicts.
Ahead of the next month agreement review in Wau town, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) with it partners, on Tuesday visited Kayango Payam of Jur River County to discuss with the local community the achievements and failures of the Marial Bai Agreement.
The farmers recommend that the cattle herders refrain from moving to their lands before harvest on January 15.
Some community members also recommended that the herders should not come with their weapons, and should vacate the farmlands before the beginning of cultivation in April.
A Kayango resident Rejina Ayamo Kuot urged UNMISS and all partners to tell the cattle keepers to always watch over their stock if allowed to move into the farmlands.
“We beg you to talk to them not to let their cattle to move rampantly into our farms,” said Kuot.
“The Dinka are our people but we need them to respect our norms that protect our economy,” she added.
Majok Mabil Uguak said the herders should not come before the agreed period.
“They should hold on till January 15 when my dura has been harvested. That is what I am saying,” said Uguak.
“We want to tell the leaders who send their cattle to our land to come without guns,” said Bernado Oyak.
State Ministry of Local Government representative Mario Adak said the state had taken note and would work with cattle keepers to address them.
State UNMISS Civil Affairs department also assured the farmers of the protection of their interests, the many challenges notwithstanding.