Torit Municipal Council Mayor Joseph Oswaha is urging NGOs supporting agricultural activities to give seeds in time to realize good yield.
Radio Emmanuel quoted him explaining that it is good if partners will distribute seeds to farmers within March and April in order for farmers to have time to cultivate.
According to the mayor, seeds that normally comes in August and September does not help much since there will be no time to catch-up with rain.
The mayor adds that the only problem facing the host community and returnees is the issue of seeds.
“I know that they will come and cultivate, you need to prepare for us the seeds and the hoes, seeds is our problem, we had experience two years all our seeds were damaged and we don’t have anything anymore that is why the ministry of Agriculture and FAO Food Agriculture Organization, we have already written our application there at least to give us seeds within this season, this period up to March and April. We don’t need seeds that come in Augustine, September know that one we would not catch up with the raining season”, he complains.
The Mayor says the people within Torit town are self-reliant through their hard work, but only needs to be supported.
He reveals that in the cultural stands the community depends entirely on their own work, but due to poor harvest last year the community is likely to be hit hard with shortage of food.
“Of course our culture we used to eat from our work, but we don’t know this year how the rain will go, last year it was not good at all the farm people came back without anything, so we don’t know how we would welcome our brothers who came back from Kenya, Uganda, they are coming back we shall be running shortage of food. We are people who live from our hand, we don’t live on anyone to feed us, we don’t like that, I know that they will come and cultivate”, the minister reiterates.
The speaker made the remarks during the reopening of the UNHCR office in Torit.