Food security...

Joseph Writes...

The authorities in Northern Bahr El Ghazel are doing their level best to provide food for their citizens. The Government of the state has provided 500 hectares for agricultural farming for returnees in western county as a short and long term solution. Also they bought a good quantity of durah to be sold with a lower price for the local community. This period of the year is the most important time whereby people are busy with farming until the harvest at the end of October. These four months are difficult months and H. E. Governor Paul Malong has put his own staff and ability to serve his people during this time of the year and also he has a vision that in 2010 the state will not be provided food from other states - it will be well sufficient for its own needs and selling extra for other states. We hope his dream will come true in this period of time.

Southern Sudan needs more help from the international community for this period of signing of agreement between North and South in order to stand on its feet after the last 2 decades of civil war in which about 1,000,000 have been displaced internally and others in the neighbouring countries - especially East Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Central Africa and Ethiopia in the horn of Africa.

The returnees need more food, medicine, shelter and schools whereby WFP is trying its best to address shortages of food for the returnees. But the need is still great which needs involvement of international NGOs in this period of the year.