By Emmanuel Mandela
Juba, South Sudan – In response to one of South Sudan’s most severe food security crises, the Norwegian Church Aid has launched an ambitious agriculture programme aimed at transforming rural communities from subsistence farming to a resilient, market-driven agricultural system, with particular emphasis on empowering women and youth.
The Agri Hub Initiative, officially launched on Wednesday, will operate until November 2026 with a budget of 28.2 million Norwegian kroner, approximately 2.9 million US dollars. Funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the programme will be implemented through a consortium led by NCA in partnership with Catholic Relief Services, CARE, Johanniter, and IWIN.
Cathrin Seland, the incoming NCA Country Director, explained that the initiative addresses deep-rooted structural challenges within South Sudan’s agricultural sector, where low productivity, weak market access, and limited financial services continue to undermine food security. She emphasized that food insecurity in the country is not merely a production challenge but a systems challenge, noting that farmers perform better when production, markets, and finance are addressed together.
The scale of the crisis is staggering. According to NCA, more than 7 million people in South Sudan are currently food insecure, while cereal production remains far below national demand. Less than 10 percent of rural households have access to credit, and nearly half of communities live more than five kilometers from a functioning market, severely limiting opportunities for farmers to sell surplus produce.
The Agri Hub programme will support 125 producer groups and five cooperatives across Lakes, Jonglei, and Western Bahr el Ghazal states, reaching more than 6,150 women, men, and youth. The initiative seeks to move farmers beyond survival-level production toward commercial agriculture, enabling them to generate income and withstand economic and climate shocks.
Farmers participating in the programme will receive comprehensive support including training in climate-adapted agricultural practices, improved access to quality inputs, better storage facilities, and assistance to increase production of key commodities such as sorghum, groundnuts, and fish. Market access will be strengthened through aggregation centres, quality standards, and direct linkages to buyers, allowing smallholder farmers to participate more effectively in local and regional markets.
Financial inclusion represents a core pillar of the initiative, designed to unlock farmers’ ability to invest in their enterprises. NCA and its partners will work with financial service providers to improve savings mechanisms, enhance financial literacy, and expand access to credit, particularly for groups traditionally excluded from formal finance.
Women and youth have been positioned at the center of the programme’s design. Seland noted that targeted interventions will help address structural inequalities that limit their participation in the agricultural economy, with focused training, leadership opportunities, and financial inclusion support to strengthen their economic resilience and decision-making power. She stressed that empowering these groups is essential not only for food security but also for social stability and long-term development.
Dr. Tapfuma Murove, Country Director for Catholic Relief Services, said the consortium is committed to supporting a transition from emergency food aid to sustainable, locally driven solutions. He acknowledged the significant challenges facing farmers, including climate shocks and unpredictable weather, while emphasizing the urgent need for long-term solutions. Dr. Murove praised the Norwegian government for supporting market-based approaches that prioritize dignity and self-reliance, adding that through their livelihoods, markets, agriculture, and climate strategy, they are dedicated to building resilient food systems grounded in regenerative agriculture and inclusive finance.
The initiative has received strong backing from the Government of South Sudan. Peter Anyieth Mayen, Director for Cooperatives at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, described cooperative farming as a key pathway to agricultural transformation. He revealed that the government has registered over 5,000 cooperatives with more than 58,000 members, though many smallholder farmers still lack capacity. Mayen called on development partners to help build skills, improve financial record-keeping, and strengthen these cooperatives, emphasizing that South Sudanese communities are increasingly seeking to move away from dependency on food aid toward self-sufficiency.
NCA indicated that the Agri Hub programme is designed to establish community-owned agricultural hubs that will continue supporting production, trade, and economic growth beyond the project’s lifespan, contributing to a more inclusive and resilient rural economy.
As South Sudan faces mounting pressures from climate change, conflict, and economic instability, the success of this initiative will be closely monitored as a potential model for transforming agriculture and empowering the country’s next generation of farmers.
