South Sudan joins hands with FAO to boost fishery sector
JUBA,
South Sudan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Friday launched a five-year project to boost fish production in the country.
The project worth 651 million South Sudanese Pound (about 5 million U.S. dollars) seeks to empower local communities by increasing the fish harvest from the waters of South Sudan and reducing post-harvest loss of fish, FAO said.
Meshack Malo, FAO representative in South Sudan, said the project aims to lift over 8,000 people out of malnutrition, provide 1,500 jobs and increase fish production in the fish-rich States Terekeka and Jonglei by 40 percent.
According to FAO, at least 1.7 million South Sudanese depend on fishing as the source of livelihoods, but fishing communities still lack the capacity to adequately exploit the fishery resources to their economic benefits.
"South Sudanese could fix some of their own economic challenges through adequate investments in the sector. The lack of supply routes allowing the transportation of fresh fish from the fishing sites to far market locations remains one of the main challenges for the fishing sector," Malo added.
James Janka Duku, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, said though no proper scientific assessments have been carried out to assess the amount of fishery resources in South Sudan, it is believed that the country could produce over 400,00 tons annually. (Xinhua)
