AfDB, FAO, South Sudan Seal Deal

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed protocols to disburse a $14 million grant to the Government of South Sudan to boost agricultural markets in a project to be implemented by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The Agricultural Markets, Value Addition and Trade Development (AMVAT) project aims to enhance agricultural productivity and boost the marketing and trade of agricultural products in South Sudan. The project will be implemented by the FAO in close liaison with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

The five-year project will help increase the productivity and incomes of almost 20,000 farming families in Central and Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei states, most of whom are formerly internally displaced persons who have now returned to their homes.

The project will create aggregation business opportunities for farmers and traders, including women and youth, and provide them with new skills and the agro-processing equipment they need to produce competitive products. Twenty aggregation business centers will serve as ‘one-stop shops’ where farmers can access extension services and connect to markets for their value-added products.

Farmer groups joining the aggregation centers will have their products not only tested and quality certified, but also traded with the private sector on their behalf.