Simsim is one of the cash crops farmers in Renk County cultivate for a market in Sudan - courtesy

Cash crop farmers in Renk County, Upper Nile State have criticized the government failure to fund them, the chairman of farmers’ Union has said.

They say lack of support from the government has forced them to sell cash crops at throwaway prices in Sudanese markets.

Last month, the farmers called on UN agencies and humanitarian groups operating in the country to buy their 2 million bags of sorghum.

The farmers have however, reported no response from the agencies and the national government.

This, the farmers stated, has mandated them to seek a marketplace for their produce in the neighboring country.

According to the chairman of Renk County Farmers’ Union, Kur Dau, a hundred kilos of sim-sim is sold at 40, 000 and Arab gum at 30,000 South Sudanese pounds.

“It was a successful agricultural season in terms of rains, but there is no funding from the government. The farmers did the plantation with their own efforts and self-help. We purchased fuel and other agricultural inputs including seeds on our own,” the chairman farmers’ Union said.

“The funding is supposed to come from the Ministry of Finance through the Agricultural Bank. The Ministry of Finance made promises to farmers, but it did not fulfill its promises to them.

“We do not have a market to sell the sim-sim crop, because the country and even banks do not buy our cash crop ‘sim-sim’. We grow it and the Sudanese buy it from the fields. And they export it as their own product.”

Agriculture sector in the country is faced with poor and inadequate infrastructural challenges.

Lack of developed trunk, feeder roads, railway and general transport systems are some of the encounters inhibiting movement of goods.