South Sudan: President Salva Kiir calls for an agricultural revolution to overcome hunger and ensure food security
During his tour of the Bahr el Ghazal region, President Salva Kiir issued a solemn call to the populations: to end dependence on humanitarian aid by investing massively in agriculture. Before the crowds gathered in Wau and Aweil, he urged his fellow citizens to seize the rainy season to cultivate the land and produce their own food. “This rainy season must be used for massive agriculture, in order to overcome hunger,” he declared.
This mobilization in favor of agriculture is not a circumstantial speech. As early as January 2025, in his New Year’s message, President Kiir had made agriculture the number one priority of his government to strengthen the country’s food security.
He had then instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to double its efforts to support farmers across the country, and the Ministry of Roads to rehabilitate access routes to enable producers to reach markets.
This commitment is now translating into concrete actions. The Bahr el Ghazal region has thus received three agricultural tractors from the national Ministry of Agriculture a direct presidential support initiative to boost production and assist local farmers.
The Governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Sharif Daniel Sharif, hailed this gesture as proof of the highest authorities’ commitment to making agriculture the engine of food security and economic development.
Beyond speeches and equipment donations, President Kiir is inviting South Sudanese to a genuine change in mindset.
He thus reminded the residents of Aweil that the country must rely more on domestic production than on humanitarian assistance.
The presidential envoy, Adut Kiir, also advocated for regional partnerships and technological cooperation to strengthen the country’s resilience against floods and improve food security.
The populations seem to have heeded the president’s call. Faced with the deteriorating economy, many South Sudanese have turned to the fields as an alternative.
In Warrap, one farmer stated that he had cultivated 2025 feddans of groundnuts and noted that many others had joined him in the agricultural sector, which he considers “the only weapon in the fight against hunger.”
President Kiir’s challenge now is to transform this wave of individual initiatives into a genuine national movement for food sovereignty.
