The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Cooperative Bank of South Sudan signed a landmark agreement in Juba on Friday to expand financial services for farmers and rural businesses, a move officials said aims to transform the country’s agricultural economy.
The partnership, part of the multi-donor Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development (READ) project, will focus on providing credit, building financial literacy and strengthening agricultural cooperatives in seven counties.
“This agreement represents a transformational step in strengthening South Sudan’s rural financial systems,” said Caroline Mwongera, country director for the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is overseeing a major grant for the project. She spoke at the signing ceremony in the capital, Juba.
The seven-year READ project is supported by a $20 million grant from IFAD, along with contributions from the South Sudanese government ($1.4 million), the Cooperative Bank ($1.8 million), UNDP ($1.4 million) and local communities ($700,000).
Mwongera said the project targets about 162,000 beneficiaries, with half being women and 70% youth.
Evans Kenyi Solomon, a technical adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the initiative places cooperatives at the heart of rural development.
“Youth and women empowerment is not a side agenda,” Solomon said. “It is the engine that drives peace, prosperity, and resilience in this country.” He described cooperatives as “the bridge that connects farmers to inputs, markets, and finance.”
Elijah Wamalwa, managing director of the Cooperative Bank, said the partnership culminates years of planning. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” Wamalwa said. “Today marks an important step because we have finally agreed to walk this journey together.”
He said the bank’s role will be to expand rural financial services and credit access. “We want a future where a farmer in Nimule or Torit can access credit as easily as someone in Juba,” Wamalwa said. Plans include expanding agency banking and developing a mobile-based financial platform.
Ligane Sene, deputy representative and senior economist for UNDP, said the project is a timely opportunity to diversify South Sudan’s oil-dependent economy and tackle challenges like low crop yields and weak markets.
“When farmers work in groups, they gain the power of scale,” Sene said. “That is how we move from food imports to food self-sufficiency.”
He also said the project could help fast-track South Sudan’s shift toward a cashless economy, aided by a new national payment framework.
The project will operate in the counties of Aweil, Renk, Nzara, Yambio, Maridi, Terekeka and Magwi.