By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The African Development Bank Group has approved a grant of $8.1 million to South Sudan to fund its Emergency Food Production Programme.
This Emergency Food Production Programme targets an additional 600,000 of the most vulnerable groups in five states where recent severe flooding has affected hundreds of thousands of households and resulted in heavy crop and livestock losses.
The five states are Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria and Western Equatoria.
Allocated through the Transition Support Facility, the grant constitutes additional financing to the ongoing Agricultural Markets, Value Addition and Trade Development Project (AMVAT).
AMVAT seeks to contribute to reduced food insecurity, poverty reduction, economic growth and building of community and household resilience and social cohesion.
Nnenna Nwabufo, the Bank’s Director General for East Africa, said the project will boost agricultural production and productivity in these five states using improved seeds, fertilizer, and extension services for farmers and to strengthen the institutional capacity of the agricultural sector.
Specifically, 498 million tonnes of sorghum seeds, the same amount of cowpea seeds, and 10 million tonnes of rice seeds will be distributed to farmers, who will also receive 30 million tonnes of fertilizer.
Once completed, the project will lead to a sustainable increase in the country’s agricultural production and productivity, higher incomes, and, improved quality of life for farmers. It will also help promote climate-smart agriculture and enhance the country’s food security.
