Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) Chief Administrator Gola Boyoi Gola and Deputy Minister of Information Gen. David Yau Yau have launched a joint agricultural initiative to transition the region from humanitarian dependency to food self-sufficiency.
The launch follows a Saturday tour of farms belonging to the two senior officials, including Gen. Yau Yau’s farm in the Tenet area and the Chief Administrator’s four-feddan demonstration plot in Pibor Town.
During the land clearing, Gola Boyoi Gola emphasized that leadership participation is a strategy to motivate the public. “I want to send them a message that if Gola the Chief Administrator can cultivate, if General Yau Yau can cultivate, then why not you?” he asked.
Gen. David Yau Yau echoed these sentiments, stating that the regional leadership aims to show that local communities can produce their own food despite a lack of modern equipment. “All these samples show that our local communities must be involved in local farming by producing their own food, eating from their own hands,” Yau Yau stated.
Both leaders called for a complete departure from reliance on the World Food Programme (WFP) and other humanitarian agencies. Chief Gola noted that while the region is currently dependent on aid, the fertile land provides the potential for surplus production.
“We need to abolish this policy of relying on humanitarian assistance,” Gen. Yau Yau added. “Instead of relying on some foreign assistance, we need to come up with a clear policy on how we can engage with our local population.”
The Chief Administrator confirmed that the initiative will focus on sorghum and maize, with plans to expand into vegetables. To support this, he has introduced a reward system to provide prizes to citizens who maintain large farms.
Gen. Yau Yau also urged the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to establish frameworks for community engagement and called on international partners, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to provide technical training for youth.
“The time has come for us to produce or to eat what we are producing ourselves,” Gola Boyoi Gola concluded. He identified floods and cattle as primary risks to the season’s yields but noted that new security measures are in place to protect farmlands from destruction.
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