Farmers in South Sudan are calling on the government to allocate at least ten percent of the national budget to the agriculture sector.
In an open letter to President Salva Kiir, the farmers appeal to the government to increase financial contribution to the agriculture and industry in South Sudan.
Chief Strategist of the South Sudan Agricultural Producers’ Union, Edward Ugo said the government has been underfunding the country’s agriculture sector despite committing ‘Maputo Declaration on Agriculture.
The Maputo declaration of 2003 calls for the allocation of at least ten percent of national budgetary resources to agriculture and rural development.
Ugo warned that continued underfunding of the agriculture sector will increase food insecurity in South Sudan.
The ministry of Finance is yet to table the 2020-2021 fiscal budget to parliament.