{"id":41499,"date":"2025-11-27T11:43:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T09:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=41499"},"modified":"2025-11-27T11:43:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T09:43:01","slug":"delays-in-seed-law-threaten-food-security-experts-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/27\/delays-in-seed-law-threaten-food-security-experts-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"Delays in Seed Law Threaten Food Security: Experts Warn"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

South Sudanese agricultural experts warn that delays in finalising and enforcing the national seed policy expose farmers to counterfeit seeds, high costs and worsening climate shocks, undermining efforts to secure food independence.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Tuesday at the University of Juba during the closeout event of the A3SEED project, industry representatives stressed that a functional regulatory framework is the only way to protect farmers and stabilise the seed market.<\/p>\n

Francis Ayiga, Chairperson of the Seed Traders\u2019 Association of South Sudan, said the country\u2019s seed prices remain high partly because production operates in an unregulated environment that allows substandard seeds to circulate, weakening farmer confidence and inflating costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPricing is a complex issue; but if you look at the history, the prices have been very high, which we acknowledge,\u201d Ayiga said.<\/p>\n

He explained that through the A3SEED programme, seed producers were trained on proper cost calculations, resulting in gradual price reductions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the five years, it has been reducing the unit cost of what we produce whether maize, sorghum or any other crop,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Ayiga added that high-yielding varieties such as hybrids may appear expensive per unit but offer significantly higher output, making them cheaper in practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re producing a high-yielding product, the unit price may appear much, but when you look at the output, it\u2019s actually less,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers actually have money. Once they attach value to what you are producing, you\u2019ll pay for that to be able to get what you want,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that South Sudan remains \u201ca bit expensive compared to neighbouring countries,\u201d but insisted that local producers are now using proper pricing structures to gradually bring down costs.<\/p>\n

Fellow expert Marial Makur Zachariah, Researcher at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, warned that counterfeit seeds continue to be one of the most dangerous threats facing farmers, threatening national food production and distorting the seed market.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these things are actually driven by policy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a policy in place, those bringing counterfeit seeds will be held accountable according to the law. But if there\u2019s no regulation, those things don\u2019t go as they are supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

He urged authorities and partners to fast-track the long-pending national seed policy, stressing that the lack of a strong legal and regulatory framework has slowed agricultural transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe negligence in law and regulations should be fast-tracked,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Makur also highlighted the growing threat of climate change to local seed production, calling for increased investment in strengthening and distributing varieties that withstand flooding and erratic weather patterns.<\/p>\n

Drawing on research presented at the event, he said several indigenous varieties already show flood resistance and should be promoted in highly vulnerable regions.<\/p>\n

He added that South Sudan\u2019s research institutions are working to improve local varieties but require stronger financial support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s good funding, we can work on improving local varieties to ensure they are resistant to climate changes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

South Sudan continues to import the majority of its seeds, leaving farmers vulnerable to high prices, inconsistent supply and counterfeit products.<\/p>\n

Poor seed quality has contributed to low yields, persistent food deficits and heavy reliance on humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n

A national seed law would establish certification standards, regulate distribution, penalise counterfeit seed dealers, support local seed companies and promote climate-resilient varieties; critical reforms experts said the government must accelerate.<\/p>\n

The A3SEED project, implemented over the past five years by IFDC and KIT with funding from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has attempted to strengthen local production systems, but stakeholders insist that lasting change depends on firm government action.<\/p>\n

As the project concludes, experts warn that without an enforced seed policy, South Sudan risks remaining trapped in low productivity, market distortion and worsening food insecurity despite its vast agricultural potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement South Sudanese agricultural experts warn that delays in finalising and enforcing the national seed policy expose farmers to counterfeit seeds, high costs and worsening climate shocks, undermining efforts to secure food independence. Speaking on Tuesday at the University of Juba during the closeout event of the A3SEED[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farming","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEEDS-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41499","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41502,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41499\/revisions\/41502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}