South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"

By Awan Achiek
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday expressed serious concerns about the lack of clarity on the existing land policy, saying it is holding back farmers from increasing food production.
“Everybody in South Sudan, including the farmers, need clarity on the land because if you are sure that the land is yours, you are going to be able to invest more money and once you are not sure, then you are not able to invest,” said Meshak Malo, the U.N. FAO Country Representative in South Sudan.
He was speaking during the opening of the consultative workshop for MPs on the land policy in Juba.
Malo noted that farmers need clarity on the land policy to be able to invest on land.
“One of the areas was the issue of land and so the legislative assembly and the parliamentarians are very important in defining this clarity that will lead to even better management of the land,” said Malo.
He said clarity on the land policy will enable farmers to invest right from the household level.
Malo noted that only 4 percent of the land is under cultivation in the country, adding that increasing production is being hindered partly due to lack of a comprehensive land policy.
“Proper policy is very important and that’s why we want to really congratulate the ministry and also congratulate the government, the executive committee for bringing up this policy and we look forward to a very robust discussion within the parliamentarians,” he said.
The National Land Policy was drafted in 2009 together with the Land Act.
Currently, the country still relies on the pre-independence 2009 Land Act, while each state has its own land policies, laws, and regulations.
After the declaration of independence in 2011, land policies were taken back to parliament for review.
When the parliament was about to deliberate on the Draft National Land Policy in 2014, the Ministry of lands withdrew it, citing the shallowness of the document, and requested further review.
Since 2005 and the 2011 independence, land disputes have been a great concern among South Sudanese.
These have been particularly common in the capital Juba, and other major towns where land disputes have caused violent conflicts, resulting in deaths and displacements.