Tons of food are getting spoiled in the Eastern Equatoria state strategic reserve stores while famine threatens residents of Budi, Ikotos and East Kapoeta counties.
A Radio Emmanuel team saw local retail traders selling spoiled maize, sorghum and rice in Torit market at cheaper prices.Eastern Equatoria state Director General of Finance, Alfred Kayumba denied recent cases of food rotting in state storage facilities.
He said last year only 500 bags got spoiled and were burnt.
The Director for Plant Protection in the ministry of Agriculture, Romeo Ojinga, contradicted Mr. Kayumba’s denial.
Mr. Ojinga said over three metric tons of grains got spoiled in the various stores in the state.
Mr. Ojinga added that the food stuff gets infected with toxic substances and pests at storage facilities making it unsafe for human consumption.
The strategic food reserves were created to fight hunger threats in several states of south Sudan.
Eastern Equatoria registered more than twenty deaths due to persistent food shortage in the state.