WFP purchasing maize from a local farmer's group in South Sudan. WFP is helping the country to develop its huge agricultural potential through the Purchase for Progress (P4P) pilot project in which WFP buys from smallholder farmers.
A farmer in Nzara, Western Equatoria state of South Sudan, sits close to bags of maize ready to be stored for purchase by WFP through its Purchase for Progress (P4P) pilot. WFP has purchased over 1,200 metric tons of commodities through P4P in South Sudan since 2010.
The P4P pilot in South Sudan also helps improve farmers' skills in minimising post-harvest losses. One method of reducing such loss is ensuring the produce is not infested by pests. Farmers seen here cleaning and sorting maize to ensure only the best quality is put in bags to be sold.
The P4P pilot project seeks to develop the skill-set of smallholder farmers, organised as groups to engage in farming as a business. A member of the Yambio Farmers Association sits in the storage room where they have pooled their crops ready for sale.
A huge challenge for farmers in South Sudan is the bad road infrastructure that makes it hard to move crops to markets and conversely makes many crop production areas inaccessible. Smallholder farmers have to use bicycles and motor-bikes to transport their produce or pay high transport costs.
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23 July 2013
Ten years into the Darfur conflict (For The Media)
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