South Sudan, February 2025
Republic of South Sudan
The Republic of South Sudan is in the final stages of joining the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), As part of this process, the government has established the National Rice Task Force (NRTF) to oversee the formulation and implementation of the National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS). Recognizing the need for alignment with best practices and standards set by CARD, the NRTF desired to revise the document to ensure conformity with NRDS documents from the other 32 CARD participating countries. In response, CARD deployed its Technical Coordinator and Senior Regional Advisor to South Sudan to facilitate a four-day working session focused on refining and updating the NRDS. This was followed by a one-day national validation workshop, bringing together key stakeholders development partners to review and endorse the revised strategy. The updated NRDS is expected to serve as a guiding framework for the development of the rice sector in South Sudan, supporting national food security and economic growth.
- Result of the mission
- NRDS Revision workshop
A four-day workshop was organized at the conference hall of Dambesh Hotel, Juba, from 24-27 February 2025, bringing together participants from the public and private sectors, the farmers’ union, academia, and development partners active in the rice sector of South Sudan.
To kick off the meeting, the NRDS Focal Point, who also serves as the Director of Horticulture in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MOAFS), welcomed participants and emphasized the significance of the workshop for the development of the country’s rice sector. He underscored that the quality and content of the NRDS would determine the type of interventions and support it could attract. As such, he urged members of the National Rice Task Force (NRTF) to dedicate their efforts to ensuring the document meets the required standards.
In his welcome remarks and in officially declaring the workshop open, the representative of the Under Secretary highlighted that food insecurity remains a major challenge for the government of South Sudan. He stressed that the development of the NRDS is a timely and critical initiative in addressing this issue. He cited the “Aweil rice scheme”, the oldest in the country, as having significant potential to contribute to reducing rice imports if properly developed and supported.
The secretary of the NRTF made a presentation of the NRDS, following the presentation, the revision of the NRDS document was carried out with technical guidance from the CARD Technical Coordinator and the Senior Regional Advisor. The process involved a comprehensive review of all chapters, ensuring that gaps were identified and addressed. Missing information was incorporated, and key aspects such as production systems, value chain development, investment needs, and policy recommendations were refined to align with CARD standards and the national priorities of South Sudan.
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Validation workshop
A one-day validation workshop was organized at the conference hall of Dambesh Hotel, Juba on the 28 February 2025. A wider stakeholder in the rice industry participated in the exercise. The representative of the Under Secretary declared the meeting opened and highlighted that food insecurity remains a major challenge for the government of South Sudan. He stressed that the development of the NRDS is a timely and critical initiative in addressing this issue, he highlighted that this is the first time South Sudan has developed a sectoral strategy on per-crop basis, demonstrating the government’s commitment to structured agricultural development.
Presentation of the NRDS
The Secretary of the NRTF presented the NRDS to participants after which the chairman solicited for questions and comments. Some of the outstanding comments include the followings:
- Ensuring that local context and realities are well captured within the document.
- Concern regarding the environmental impact of rice production, emphasizing the need for the NRDS to clearly outline strategies for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Integration of climate adaptation measures into the strategy, considering the growing challenges posed by climate change
- The importance of including clear and actionable recommendations in the National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS) to ensure its effective implementation
- Validation by Consensus
After considering the comments and addressing the relevant questions, the Chairman of the NRTF promised to incorporate all feedback into the document. The Representative of the Under Secretary then called on the participants to validate the document, which was done.
