South Sudan: South Sudan Finance Minister Says Food Output Can Offset Oil

Jan 20, 2015 | Francis Okech, Bloomberg
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South Sudan should boost agricultural output and reduce its reliance on imports to salvage an economy hit by conflict and a plunge in global oil prices, the country’s finance minister said.

The East African nation, in the 13th month of a civil war, needs to focus on domestic production of fruit, vegetables and cereals, most of which are imported from Uganda, and find additional sources of revenue, Finance and Economic Planning Minister David Deng Athorbei said in an interview on Monday in the capital, Juba. The violence, spread over at least three of the country’s 10 states, has displaced farmers who missed a planting season for crops such as corn and sorghum and cut oil production by at least a third.