By Yiep Joseph<\/p>\n
A civil society activist is urging the government to prioritize stability in the country to facilitate agriculture and development.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Since the peace agreement was signed in 2018, South Sudan has continued to face challenges from various armed groups, as well as armed youth in rural areas.<\/p>\n Despite numerous efforts by the government, reports of armed confrontations between military forces and peace parties persist, along with various communal conflicts that contribute to ongoing instability.<\/p>\n Although a certain number of unified forces have been established as per the peace agreement, instability continues in some regions of the country.<\/p>\n In a statement to the media, Ter Manyang, the executive director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), emphasized the importance of translating government promises into action by implementing security arrangements that will enable further development initiatives.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we establish peace and security, everything else will fall into place, including agriculture and essential infrastructure like road networks, which are vital for a functioning society,\u201d Ter said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile agriculture is important, it should not be the top priority in a country where access to guns is widespread,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Ter said that the government’s plan to prioritize agriculture with no proper plans to ensure security would not help the country.<\/p>\n He called on the government to have a proper plan for bringing security and stability to the country. \u201cIt is impossible to discuss agriculture when citizens live in fear of violence, including the threat of rape or murder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout peace and harmony, achieving political strength, economic stability, and cultural development becomes impossible,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The activist urged politicians to focus on peace and cease putting their individual or party interests aside to give peace a chance.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore we can promote the concept of peace in our country and prioritize it over self-centred interests, we must first cultivate peace within ourselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in his New Year\u2019s address, President Salva Kiir reiterated government efforts to boost food production in the country by directing various ministries to take up their roles.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ministry of Roads and Bridges to rehabilitate and construct roads leading to Western Equatoria to enable farmers to access the market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the year 2025, the government will prioritize agriculture to enhance our food security. I am therefore directing the Ministry of Agriculture to double efforts to support the farmers across the country to improve yield. The Ministry of Roads and Bridges to rehabilitate and construct roads leading to Western Equatoria to enable farmers to access the market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kiir expressed that the rehabilitation of the roads leading to Western Equatoria state would ensure that Juba and other neighbouring towns received food items produced within the country.<\/p>\n The President also directed the Army to provide security on the roads to ensure the safety of farmers and travelers in general.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ministry of defense to make sure all illegal checkpoints along the roads and rivers are removed and security and safety of the travelers is guaranteed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Yiep Joseph A civil society activist is urging the government to prioritize stability in the country to facilitate agriculture and development. Since the peace agreement was signed in 2018, South Sudan has continued to face challenges from various armed groups, as well as armed youth in rural areas. Despite[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":32218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Ter-Manyang-the-executive-director-for-the-Center-for-Peace-and-Advocacy.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32219,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32217\/revisions\/32219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe activist emphasized the need for the president and the country to invest in peace and security in order to pave the way for agriculture.<\/p>\n