Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Senior Presidential Advisor and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Deputy Chairman Kuol Manyang called on the youth to embrace agriculture to free the country from perennial hunger.
Manyang made the remarks during a meeting with the SPLM youth on Saturday, saying that only through the involvement of youth and leaders can the country be free of hunger.
“Liberating our country is not enough unless we liberate our people from poverty and hunger… “And these need everyone, including youth political organizations to prioritize agriculture,” Manyang said.
He called on youth to shun unproductive games and engage in productive activities that can give them money and help them make a living.
“The youth must take the lead in developing the country by actively involving themselves in agriculture and income-generating activities,” he said.
Manyang argued that there is a need for youth to promote unity through participating in sports, games, and other activities that bring different people together.
“Please promote cultural diversity, participate in environmental conservation activities, promote health education and awareness, and avoid idle gathering,” he said.
Also, he encouraged youth to disseminate a message of peace alongside the need to take part in agriculture as the rainy season approaches.
He acknowledged the efforts made by SPLM youth in political mobilisation but urged them to sensitize the public on prioritizing agriculture in town and at the grassroots.
Simon Utong Arkanjelo, one of the SPLM youth, promised to engage the group to focus their energies on farming.
He appreciated the SPLM’s leadership in the youth empowerment program.
“When we are supported, we shall do our best to ensure that we influence youth to effectively take part in agriculture,” Utong said.
However, he expressed a need for capital to enable them to engage in small businesses to generate income.
Almost eight million people in South Sudan, or two-thirds of the population in the deeply troubled country, are at risk of hunger, the United Nations warned in a report on Thursday last year.
One of the world’s poorest nations, South Sudan has spent more than half its life as a nation at war, with nearly 400,000 people died during a five-year civil war that ended in 2018.
“Hunger and malnutrition are on the rise across the flood, drought, and conflict-affected areas of South Sudan, with some communities likely to face starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained and climate adaptation measures are not scaled up,” the report said.
The joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN children’s fund UNICEF, and the World Food Programme said the proportion of people facing high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition “is at the highest level ever,” surpassing levels seen even during the conflict in 2013 and 2016.
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