The Council of Ministers in Yei River State in its sitting headed by Governor David Lokonga Moses has agreed to allocate 1.8 million South Sudanese pounds for establishment of a new coffee plantation in the state.

A proposal on the matter was presented to the council for deliberation by the state agriculture minister Huda Michael Laila. According to Huda, it’s high time for the government to begin looking for alternatives to diversify its sources of revenue rather than waiting for cash from Juba.

She said her ministry (agriculture and forestry) has a big role to play in this effort.

“Your Excellency Governor it is our responsibility as a Government to work day and night with partners to see to it that we move forward in development. So with this memo of mine I believe it will diversify our economy also enable the government to raise resources in return for service delivery to the people of the state,” said Huda.

She said her ministry will take charge of identifying at least six sites for establishment of a nursery bed for coffee seeds in the state. The amount approved will be used for raising more than 600,000 coffee seedlings to be supplied to the farmers at low cost.

Information minister Stephen Ladu Onesmo said the project is expected to generate more revenue to both the government and the farmers through its sales to the international markets.