Jenifer James
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Onyoti Adigo speaks to media on Thursday in Terekeka County. [Jenifer James, The City Review]
South Sudan will embark on boosting its livestock and fisheries to ensure stable exports to the global markets.
Speaking when he went to inspect the Food Agriculture Organization project in Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State, on Thursday, the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Onyoti Adigo, said this move will strengthen the country’s economy.
Adigo said he toured some camps along the Nile River and noticed that the fishermen were dedicated to their economic activity and were beginning to embrace modern ways of fish preservation.
“This is all the transformation of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries. We want to market livestock, and we want to market fisheries, and then we can now export products abroad in order to save the current situation in which we are suffering economically,” he said.
“We need to improve the lives of our livestock; we even need to improve how we catch fish and then market them abroad,” Adigo argued.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Beth Bechdol, said that the project is the third largest in the world.
According to Bechdol, their collaboration with the national government shows that the government truly affirms its commitment to the advancement of the country’s agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors.
“It is time for the people of South Sudan to not only be able to feed themselves but to be able to add important markets here in the region and perhaps around the world for the really important products that are grown here; the natural resources are there, land and water,” he said.
Bechdol said there are already well-functioning livestock herds and abundant fisheries to take advantage of, adding “you can count on FAO to be an important implementation partner.”
However, the Food and Agriculture Organization Country Representative in South Sudan, Meshack Malo, said the project will run for two to three years in Terkeka County in Central Equatoria State.
“In terms of the cost of these projects, especially those that we’ve received from the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the Netherlands, and Norway, we are talking about an investment of over $200 million across the country in various areas that will last for two to three years.”
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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