The German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has distributed 8 metric tons of certified foundation seeds to farmers in Yei and Magwi counties to boost climate-resilient agriculture ahead of the planting season, the agency said on Friday.
The seeds – maize, groundnuts, sorghum, soybean and sesame – were sourced from Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) and delivered through GFA Consulting Group under the Community Driven Rural Development (CDRD) project.
The consignment was distributed to 30 trained community seed multipliers in the two counties, as part of efforts to improve access to higher-yielding and climate-resilient seed varieties.
GIZ said the intervention combines seed distribution with training in seed multiplication, business development, and field testing of new varieties in collaboration with county agriculture departments.
Despite fertile land and improved farming practices, farmers in Yei and Magwi continue to record low yields compared with neighbouring countries, with maize production estimated at about 0.6 tonnes per acre, far below yields in Uganda.
Officials attributed the gap partly to poor-quality and recycled seeds, which are increasingly less resilient to changing climatic conditions.
The CDRD project procured the seeds with financial support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and tested them in Uganda and locally before distribution, according to the statement.
The project is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and is co-funded by the European Union and the Netherlands.
Germany and the EU are major development partners in South Sudan, supporting programmes in governance, agriculture, water, peacebuilding and gender equality.
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