Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security

Republic of South Sudan

Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security

Republic of South Sudan

READ

Funding Envelope:

$20000000

Project Overview

The Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development (READ) project was approved by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program Board on 21 December 2022 for a financing of US$ 20.0 million to be supervised by IFAD. The project became effective on 1st Aug 2023 following the signing of the financing agreement between IFAD and the Government of South Sudan. The project output agreement was signed on 24 November 2024, between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) and the implementing partner, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The READ project overall goal is to ‘improve food security, income and resilience among the targeted rural households.’ The Project Development Objective is to ‘empower Rural Producers’ Organization (RPOs) as sustainable and resilient food value chain players. The strategy for achieving this is built on the RPOs development: Farmer Groups, Cooperatives, Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLAs), Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) and Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), as central to restoring individual/household and collective capital and assets, and towards attaining greater social cohesion and peace consolidation.

Key Project Components

  1. The geographical coverage includes counties of Aweil Centre, Magwi, Maridi, Nzara, Yambio and Renk targeting approximately 27,511 households (equivalent to 162,315 beneficiaries) through their RPOs (36 cooperatives, 300 APGs, 300 VSLAs and 24 SACCOS). Among the target RPOs, special consideration will be given to women (50 percent), youth (70 percent) and vulnerable groups. To achieve its development goal, the project is structured into three components as below.
  2. Component 1 – Rural producers’ organizations development objective is to support RPOs development and existing formalized organizations like cooperatives, and the less structured APGs. A key focus and success indicator is to realize the graduation of the said organizations. RPOs will be equipped with assets and capacities needed to promote equitable and sustainable market linkages for rural producers.
  3. Component 2 – Inclusive Rural Financial Services will enhance the capacities of target groups to access financial services and products; improve the capacity and inclusive outreach of rural financial institutions (VSLAs/SACCOs); leverage VSLAs’ potential to provide social services to their members; and strengthen the capacity of the Cooperative Bank of South Sudan (CBSS) to expand its outreach to rural areas and agriculture
  4. Component 3 – Policy and Regulatory Framework Development will strengthen the capacity of MAFS staff and offices at the national, state and county level to support registration of cooperatives, as part of formalizing them; support project coordination and oversight functions; and implement national policies and regulatory frameworks related to agriculture, rural development and inclusive rural finance.

Project Achievements

Project Contact

For more information on the project, contact: Project Manager: luka.hakim@mafs.gov.ss or Communications Officer: anthony.ochan@mafs.gov.ss

About MAFS

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) in South Sudan is a ministry in the current Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unit with a mission to enhance the quality of life for over 87 percent of the rural population

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Contact

  • Ministries Complex, Juba South Sudan
  • info@mafs.gov.ss

© 2025 Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security | South Sudan.

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