John Ogoto, undersecretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, speaks to Eye Radio on Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 | Credit | Lou Nelson/Eye Radio

An official has partly blamed the yearly hunger in the country on the continuous underfunding of the agricultural sector in South Sudan.

According to the undersecretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, food insecurity in in the country is linked to the neglect of the sector in terms of adequate investment and training.

Some 8.3 million people in South Sudan are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021, the UN says

A total of 72 counties in the country still face extreme humanitarian needs while five are in severe needs.

John Ogoto states that communal and political acts of violence are also a factor.

“Farmers are where the insecurity begins. That means not only the Ministry of Agriculture but the security sector should work closely with the communities to stabilize the situation,” Ogoto told Eye Radio.

In July 2020, a group of farmers and coalition of civil society organizations appealed to the government to increase by 10 percent the national budget to develop the agriculture sector.

In the last three financial year, South Sudan only allocated 1 percent to the sector.

This is despite South Sudan being among African countries that signed the African Union Declaration of Malabo in 2014 (formerly Maputo Declaration of 2003), committing itself to develop the agriculture sector.

The Declaration tasked all African states to allocate at least 10 percent of their annual national budget to develop the sector.

Among other goals, the Declaration also set a milestone of reducing poverty by half, by 2025 through inclusive agricultural growth and transformation in the African continent.