European Union’s Grant To E. Equatoria Farmers

Small- scale farmers in Kapoeta North and South counties are set to benefit from a 1.6 million Euros donation from the European Union.

The donation, through an implementing agency, Food and Agriculture Research Management-Africa (FARM-Africa), will target 15,000 small scale farmers in selected eight payams of the two counties.

In a briefing upon his arrival to the county, a Project Coordinator at FARM-Africa, South Sudan David Deng Paul revealed that the main activities that will be carried out during the implementation period will focus on community animal health services, farmer participatory research, enterprise groups and capacity building.

He said that the project will run for three years beginning this month, adding that in order to make the project keep running and last long, farm participatory research development of payams’ demonstration centres coupled with participatory rural appraisal shall be undertaken from time to time.

This, he said, will assist in identifying the beneficiaries’ needs and opportunities.

Deng said his organisation will also help the farmers to identify key economic activities’ demands and constrains besides helping livestock farmers locate market for their animals.

He said the overall objective of the programme is to reduce food insecurity and hence reduce poverty in the two counties.

A monitoring and evaluation officer at FARM-Africa who accompanied Deng, Francis Olupot said two drug stores, two model butcheries, two slaughter houses and two market centres are targeted to be fully set up at the end of the three years.

He added that 16 enterprise groups from the two selected counties shall be identified, trained and mentored to run their activities with less supervision.

“By doing so, project ownership by the beneficiaries shall now be realised since they themselves will be involved in managing it”, he said.

He said in the enterprise support for income generation activity, training and mentoring of livestock enterprise group will include hay making, utilisation of non-timber forest products, tanneries and milk marketing with the seed money for their inputs and market infrastructure improvement.

The Kapoeta North County Commissioner Lokai Iko welcomed the support and thanked FARM- Africa for supporting development in the county.