Post: #1
Title: South Sudan should boost agricultural output: the country’s ‘finance minster
Author: SudaneseOnline News
Date: 01-20-2015, 04:25 PM
Jan 20, 2015-Khartoum-SudaneseOnline-South Sudan’s Finance and Economic Planning Minister, David Deng, stressed that his country should boost agricultural output and reduce its reliance on imports to salvage an economy hit by conflict and a plunge in global oil prices,
in an interview on Monday, Deng said that Juba’s government needs to focus on domestic production of fruit, vegetables and cereals, most of which are imported from Uganda, and find additional sources of revenue
“South Sudan must produce for its needs,” said Athorbei, who was appointed minister last week. The nation should find “alternative means for moving forward until the situation stabilizes. We need to achieve peace and we have to depend on ourselves, increase non-oil revenue and be efficient in collecting it.”
Tens of thousands of people have died in the fighting, while almost 2 million others have fled their homes, according to the United Nations. The conflict may cost the economy as much as $28 billion if it continues for the next five years, according to London-based Frontier Economics. The country’s $13.8 billion economy shrank an estimated 15 percent last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
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