The American Government aid agency launched yesterday a new agricultural programme in partnership with the government of Southern Sudan in a bid to boost food production in Greater Equatoria.
The Food, Agribusiness and Rural Markets (FARM) programme takes five years to implement with a total budget of 55 million US dollars.Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator, told SCR News this morning that the FARM programme marks a shift in the agency’s policy from food distribution to food production.
USAID is the main aid organization distributing food in hunger stricken areas in South Sudan, spending over 600 million dollars in 2009.
Dr. Shah said he was very impressed with the dedication of the 65 people who work for USAID in south Sudan.
He added that USAID was also investing on the formation of human resources to provide education and health care services to south Sudan besides infrastructure development.
The FARM programme invests about four million dollars per year in each of the three Equatoria states in technical assistance to GoSS and state ministries of agriculture.