Juba County Joins €48 Million Green Farming Project

(JUBA COUNTY) – Germany, the Netherlands, and the European Union have started a new phase of the Community Driven Rural Development project in Central Equatoria State. The project has €48 million ($51.8 million) to help people in rural areas improve their farming and livelihoods.

The project will help 27,500 households in eight counties across Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western, Central and Eastern Equatoria States. It works together with the GRACE project and is part of the EU’s Green and Resilient Economy programme.

With the new funding, the project is expanding into Juba County. It will help farmers grow crops better, access markets and services, and support women and young people. The project will also protect natural resources so rural communities can have long term benefits. Lessons learned will be shared with government to improve policies.

Central Equatoria State Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Forestry, Lily Kapuki, said the project is important to improve food and nutrition security for small farmers.

The launch event was attended by government officials, Payam administrators, chiefs, representatives from the German Embassy, EU Delegation, and Netherlands Embassy. Youth and women groups, private businesses and national and international organisations like IFAD and the GRACE Project consortium were also present.

Vittoria Longato from the EU Delegation said the project is a Team Europe effort to support South Sudan in building a sustainable and climate resilient economy. She said the project is a shared goal of Germany, the Netherlands and the EU to help people in South Sudan improve their rural economy.

The event also expanded the Central Equatoria State Steering Committee for the EU Green Resilient Economy Action, which will oversee both the CDRD and GRACE projects.

The project is run by GIZ (Germany) and the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) with local and international partners. GIZ works in South Sudan for the German government.

Germany already supports South Sudan in farming, local government, water and sanitation, peacebuilding, gender equality and preventing gender based violence. The EU supports development and promotes democracy, equality and human rights.