---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Fri, Jan 25, 2013 at 4:03 PM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] South Sudan leads the world in livestock wealth per capita To: Group <[email protected]>
Foreigners (and some of the non-pastoralist communities in South Sudan) are in the habit of blaming cattle for much of the current violence in South Sudan. I think this is simplistic and a trifle lazy. I hope Sharon Hutchinson won't mind me quoting her, from a conference about Jonglei State held last year where aid workers, diplomats and back-donors were parroting the usual "cattle are the problem" narrative. Sharon's heartfelt response was, "Cattle are not the problem; cattle are part of the solution". While pastoralists in South Sudan are still a long way from capitalising on the full potential of their herds, nevertheless livestock is yet another of the many resources which the new nation has, and sensible long-term engagement with pastoralist communities can lead to both economic and security benefits. John BEGIN South Sudan leads the world in livestock wealth per capita January 24, 2013 (JUBA) – Statistics on the wealth of livestock per capita in South Sudan has indicated that the region is leading the world in the underutilized economic sector. With the population of 8.2 million people according to the 2008 disputed population census, South Sudan has over 31 million heads of cattle, sheep and goats, making it a world leading nation when the animal wealth is calculated per capita. Botswana used to take lead in the livestock wealth per capita before the latest revelation which has put South Sudan on the lead. The statistics which was revealed on Wednesday by the Minister of Animal Resources and Fisheries, Martin Elia Lomoro, also indicated that the huge livestock wealth has not been utilized or introduced into the economic development of the country which would have contributed to generating non-oil revenues. Despite the over 31 million cattle, sheep and goats, South Sudan continues to import most of the meat from the neighbouring countries to feed its population, losing hundreds of millions of dollars every year without exports in return. The economic cluster meeting on Wednesday chaired by the Vice-President Riek Machar discussed some of the main challenges facing the livestock industry. These include the traditional mindset of the cattle keepers which only values cattle for marriages and prestige. The meeting discussed the need to change the mindset and persuade the cattle keepers to commercialize the commodity by bringing the cattle to the markets and benefit from their other economic values. There are also trans-boundary animal diseases which should be controlled in the ten states of the region, according to the minister, by designing mechanisms to make sure that the animals are routinely vaccinated in order to maintain their good health, produce quality meat and dairy products. South Sudan has been dependent on the oil revenues by 98% of its annual budget for the last eight years despite the huge potential from the non-oil resources. (ST) http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45286 END ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan, South Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 82 050 1235 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.za/group/sudan-john-ashworth -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
