Chiefs blame prevailing hunger on insecurity

By Simon Deng

Traditional chiefs have blamed the acute food insecurity affecting various parts of the country on intermittent communal conflict.

“People are not farming because there is no security, every greedy person has picked up a gun to lay road ambushes, people are even killed in farmlands, we want the president to put in place measures to stabilize security,” said Chiping Mading Akuei, the chief of Abyei Administrative Area last week during the meeting of the South Sudan Chiefs’ Council in Juba.

 He called on the government to provide communities with seeds and tools for farming, adding that people are dying due to mainly hunger and not diseases.

Mading’s remarks follow the recent reported deaths of 30 people due to starvation in the last two months in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.

Musa Stephen, the chief representing Ondruba area of Central Equatoria State, said insecurity is the major problem hampering food production across the country. 

“The major problem which discourages farming is insecurity, people are afraid to go farming. If the security is maintained, nobody will fear, let the government resolve the issue of insecurity for people to farm,” said Stephen.

Koko Martin Odi, the paramount chief of Magwi County in Eastern Equatoria State said that many South Sudanese are suffering in both internally displaced camps and in refugee camps in neighboring countries.

“People who have been displaced by civil war are fearing to come back home, people have migrated to towns, for example, people who are now staying in Juba come from rural areas,”  said Odi.

“When insecurity is resolved, people will engage in agriculture production, and when people engage in farming food will be available and prices will come down, there is also need to introduce farmers’ cooperative societies to supply food items,” he added.

Over 7 million people in South Sudan are at risk of severe hunger this year, according to the UN.

Climate induced disasters such as drought; flooding and communal conflicts are cited as the main causes of the hunger.