But this livelihood, too, is risky and highly dependent on the rainy season.įailed harvests in much of the Horn of Africa, coupled with the international armed conflict in Ukraine and regional conflict, have led the price of grain and cereal in Kapoeta to increase drastically. If they do get lucky, a gram can fetch around 50 US dollars. Travelling long distances, they camp at mines for weeks on end to try their luck at collecting a few grams of gold in the local streams. Some farmers have reached breaking point and abandoned farming altogether, turning to mining for gold instead. “This is the second round of maize I am planting this year that is now failing. Now that it’s raining in July, I planted again, this time holding on to hope the rains will not fail,” he explains.Īnyuon Malwan, Area chief of Atarabara, Kapoeta South also describes the situation as dire: I planted maize and sorghum but the rains disappeared in May. “The rains this year came a little early in March. He’s the chairman of the local farmers’ association in Kapoeta South county and shares how erratic this year’s weather patterns have been. As I drive by local farmers’ fields, nearly all the crops I see are dry and struggling.Īndrea Loteng, 64, shows me around his farm. This is the second failed rainy season for a community that depends on cultivating crops. As residents walk by in the hustle and bustle of this small, rural town, you can see it in their faces: fatigue, most likely from hunger. Kapoeta, South Sudan has seen a drastic change in recent times. | Article South Sudan food insecurity: “Holding on to hope the rains will not fail”
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