January 29, 2013 (JUBA) - The Governor of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state, Louis Lobong Lojore, has appealed to the national government to intervene and avert the looming hunger crisis in his state.
The governor, in a statement, he issued to the press on Tuesday while on a visit to the national capital, Juba, also called on the business people in other states where there is food surplus to trade with Eastern Equatoria state by transporting and marketing food items to the affected population.
Lobong, who met Vice-President, Riek Machar, on Tuesday also appealed to the country’s leadership to help the state find ways to avail food in the markets to the populations hard hit by hunger.
The governor, in particular cited counties occupied by the Toposa people as the area worst affected by lack of access to food commodities.
South Sudan largely depends on imported food commodities from the neighbouring countries, despite its huge potential in agriculture.
Most of the country’s land is arable but only 4% of it is cultivated, according to the official information from the ministry of agriculture and forestry.
Last year, as United Nations food security assessment, showed at least 4.7 millionSouth Sudanese remained food insecure, with nearly one million of them said to have been severely affected.
(ST)