Africa-Press – South-Sudan. RUMBEK, Lakes State (Eye Radio) – A delegation from the Embassy of Canada in South Sudan, along with representatives from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and officials from the Lakes State government, completed a joint field visit to the Supporting Livelihoods for Agropastoralists project.
This project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, and implemented by CRS, is a three-year initiative (December 2022 – March 2026) that addresses the interconnected challenges of food insecurity and conflict in the two historically unstable and unsafe counties of Rumbek East and Yirol West, directly benefiting over 6,000 participants and indirectly benefiting 30,000.
The joint team visited a farmer producer group, savings groups, and participants of small business grants in Akot and Aluakluak Payams, where they observed improved crop yields and a thriving female owned restaurant supported through this project.
In Akot Payam, 26-year-old mother of three and farmer, Amuong Maker highlighted how the support from the project has enabled her farmer group to expand cultivation, which has greatly improved their yields and, in turn, improved their livelihoods. Upon receipt of extensive agricultural support, they increased farmland from 150 feddans (60 hectares) to 250 feddans (100 hectares) and now produce enough sorghum, millet, beans and groundnuts to feed their families and provide other necessities like their children’s education.
“Our lives have greatly improved, and we can now feed our children and still have enough to send them to school and take care of other household needs,” she said.
Dr. Tapfuma Murove, CRS South Sudan Country Manager, said the project has played a vital role in helping farmers boost crop yields while also promoting peaceful coexistence between communities.
“We have seen reduced conflict over natural resources and stronger cooperation among communities where we have intervened. We have also observed increased production and strengthened food security in these communities,” he said.
The delegation also engaged with state leadership and steering committee members overseeing the project’s implementation across three government ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, and Ministry of Peacebuilding, with technical involvement from the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC).
Women make up more than 60% of the project’s target groups, and many have established income-generating activities, including solar-charging centers, savings groups, and restaurants.
Lakes State’s Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, Hon. Angelina Mario, applauded the progress and noted that “We have seen real steps toward women’s development and self-reliance in Lakes State. When you support a woman, the whole community benefits.”
Stakeholders and community members uniformly reinforced that the project has fostered peaceful coexistence in historically tense border areas between Rumbek East and Yirol West, with communities now freely moving and farming together.
Local community leaders and project participants expressed profound appreciation to the people of Canada for this project and further urged donors to extend support to neighboring payams, citing improved livelihoods, reduced hunger, and expanded access to peacebuilding initiatives and basic education as key impacts.
CRS reiterated its commitment to collaborating with state authorities and local partners while seeking additional funding to expand the project to more communities and maximize efforts to achieve sustainable food security and peaceful co-existence in Lakes State and South Sudan in general.
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