South Sudan's minister of agriculture and food security Lam Akol said his ministry's priorities is to achieve self sufficiency in food production and to begin exporting food internationally.

Lam Akol, a member of the Democratic Change Party in the Transitional Government of National Unity, told Radio Tamazuj that there are many businesspeople who want to invest in South Sudan's agricultural sector.

“Our plans is that first self sufficiency in food must be achieved and encourage traditional farming and expansion in agriculture horizontally and vertically, introduction of private sector and then food production so that they have an added value in order to be exported outside the country,” said Akol.  

He said the agricultural sector requires clear plans and policies. He added that the country's former enterprises must be reconstructed and operationalized.

However, Akol said his ministry had no knowledge of the 1000 tractors which president Salva Kiir claimed to donate to South Sudan last year. Some of those tractors have been distributed to the states.

Akol said his ministry will carry out their plans without relying on the 1000 tractors because most of South Sudanese depend on manual plows.