{"id":44649,"date":"2026-05-14T14:59:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=44649"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:59:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:59:35","slug":"poor-roads-cut-off-farmers-from-markets-raise-food-losses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/poor-roads-cut-off-farmers-from-markets-raise-food-losses\/","title":{"rendered":"Poor roads cut off farmers from markets, and raise food losses in WES"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Farmers across Western Equatoria State (WES) raised the alarm over the poor condition of the roads linking farming areas to the capital, Juba.<\/p>\n

The farmers cited deteriorating infrastructure as affecting their ability to access markets and attract buyers for their agricultural produce.<\/p>\n

Some of the farmers said impassable roads, especially during the rainy season, have left many communities isolated, causing delays in transportation and forcing large quantities of fresh produce to spoil before reaching consumers.<\/p>\n

Speaking to No. 1 Citizen Newspaper, Mborifuko Samuel, a farmer from Western Equatoria, described the road network as one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture in the country and the states, most especially Yambio, the capital of WES.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are suffering because buyers no longer want to travel to our areas; when our crops are ready, trucks fail to reach us due to the bad roads. Sometimes tomatoes, vegetables, and fruits rot in the gardens.\u201d Mborifuko Samuel said<\/p>\n

According to him, transporters now charge extremely high fees because vehicles frequently break down or get stuck in mud along the roads.<\/p>\n

Mary Abuk, a cassava and groundnut farmer from Maridi County, said the poor road network has discouraged many farmers from increasing production despite government encouragement to engage in agriculture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe produce enough food, but taking it to the market is the main problem,\u201d she explained. \u201cDuring rainy seasons, roads become almost impossible to pass. Some drivers spend two or three weeks on routes that should take only a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that the transportation difficulties have reduced profits for small-scale farmers, many of whom depend on agriculture as their only source of income.<\/p>\n

Another farmer from Eastern Equatoria State, Peter Odongi, said traders often cancel their trips after hearing about road conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuyers call us asking about maize and simsim, but when we explain the state of the roads, they refuse to come. At the end, we are forced to sell cheaply within villages or lose the products completely,\u201d Odongi stated<\/p>\n

Traders in Juba have also expressed concern over the impact of poor roads on food supply and market prices in the capital.<\/p>\n

Sarah Wani, a trader at Konyo Konyo Market, said transportation challenges have contributed to shortages of fresh produce and rising food prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen roads are bad, fewer goods arrive in Juba, transport costs become higher, and that affects both traders and consumers. Sometimes vegetables arrive already spoiled because of long delays on the road.\u201d Wani said<\/p>\n

Agriculture is considered one of the most important sectors for South Sudan\u2019s economic recovery and food security. The country has vast fertile land and favorable climatic conditions suitable for large-scale farming.<\/p>\n

Since its independence in 2011, the government has repeatedly encouraged citizens to embrace agriculture to reduce dependence on imported food and strengthen the local economy.<\/p>\n

However, poor infrastructure remains a major obstacle to agricultural growth. Many roads connecting rural farming communities to towns and markets remain unpaved and become inaccessible during heavy rains.<\/p>\n

In several parts of the country, broken bridges, flooding, and lack of maintenance have worsened transportation challenges, affecting both farmers and traders.<\/p>\n

Development partners and humanitarian organisations have, over the years, supported road rehabilitation projects in some regions, but farmers say many productive agricultural areas are still cut off from major markets.<\/p>\n

The farmers are now calling on the national government and development partners to prioritise road construction and maintenance to improve market access and support food production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco Farmers across Western Equatoria State (WES) raised the alarm over the poor condition of the roads linking farming areas to the capital, Juba. The farmers cited deteriorating infrastructure as affecting their ability to access markets and attract buyers for their agricultural produce. Some of the farmers said[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158,85,80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-markets","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/The-road-linking-Western-Equatoria-State-to-the-capital-Juba-Courtesy-Photo.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44649","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44651,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44649\/revisions\/44651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}