The chairperson of the youth association in Yei River County of Central Equatoria State has called on the youth in the county to embark on agriculture to improve food security in the region.
Johnson Poru Hillary told Radio Tamazuj that when the youth cultivate they will increase the amount of food produced and reduce overdependence on imported food.
“I expect that the young people and women should engage in farming because, without agriculture, things will be very difficult. There will always be a scarcity of food,” Poru said. “I also expect that this year, we should not import too much food from outside. We should be able to inject our energy as young people to see that we increase the quantity and quality of foodstuff we produce within.”
Poru called on the county agriculture department to ensure that farmers are equipped with farm inputs and good seeds for planting.
Meanwhile, Amos Lugala Moris, the county agriculture director, said: “To the organizations, we need the seeds to first reach our office for testing before reaching our farmers. But some organizations bring seeds directly from Juba to the farmers, which is not good.”
Lugala encouraged farmers to use local seeds instead of imported seeds from organizations which he says could have overstayed in stores.
“I encourage the farmers not to wait for seeds that come from organizations. Let us use the local seeds because the seeds that come to the people of Yei are from Kenya and Uganda and sometimes are seeds that have stayed for long,” he lamented.
As the planting season begins, the people of Yei River County hope to increase both the quality and quantity of food production in a bid to fight food insecurity in the region.
Yei River County within South Sudan’s greenbelt region with favorable amounts of rain and fertile soils.