By Alan Clement
The government’s push to transform South Sudan’s agriculture into a commercial success faces two critical preconditions: peace and stability.
This was the powerful message delivered by Mary Agol, Secretary General of the Women Union and a Member of the National Constitutional Review Committee, during the executive launch of the AgroFood Expo 2026.
Speaking at the executive launch of the AgroFood Expo, her remarks positioned national security not just as a backdrop but as a prerequisite for economic reform and grassroots empowerment. “Without security, it will be very difficult to achieve anything,” Agol told attendees, urging citizens to take collective responsibility for peacebuilding.
The Expo, organized by Orient Expos in collaboration with four government ministries, is framed as a strategic platform to transition agriculture from subsistence to commercial scale. But Agol’s intervention shifted the narrative, reminding stakeholders that without civic unity and political stability, investment and innovation will remain out of reach.
“We, the South Sudanese, must bring peace,” she added, linking the Expo’s goals to broader efforts in reconciliation and national cohesion.
Agol emphasized that many South Sudanese women face daily insecurity as they leave their homes at dawn to tend farms, a reality that she stressed must be addressed through grassroots action not government alone. Speaking at the AgroFood Expo 2026 launch, Agol called for collective responsibility in restoring peace and trust across communities.
“We need to solve that out. Who? The South Sudanese. Not the government only. The people, the kids, the youths, the women leaders should talk with our people down at the level of the grassroots to settle this issue of security, of peace, of maintaining peace among our communities, of building bridges of trust,” she appealed.
Her remarks highlighted the urgency of civic engagement in peacebuilding, especially as active cooperatives and initiatives like Farmers Dialogue prepare to register for the Expo. Agol praised the organizers for convening the private sector around a shared vision of agricultural investment and social renewal.
She pledged SSP 10 million pledged 10 million SSP to support the private sector’s participation in the upcoming Expo, providing a substantial injection of grassroots funding and demonstrating the Union’s determination to see the agricultural agenda succeed under stable conditions.
The AgroFood Expo 2026 is expected to convene regional stakeholders, financiers, and grassroots cooperatives, but as Agol made clear, its success will depend on more than policy it will require peace.