
Time to fish: The people of Pibor have learnt better fishing skills
When the greedy insects decimated crops, people were shown other ways to make a living
Andrew Ewoku
In 2020, South Sudan, and other countries in East Africa, witnessed the first locust invasion in over 70 years due to changes in weather that were favourable to their breeding patterns.
According to space agency, NASA, a single swarm of locusts can cover 1,200 square kilometres and can contain between 40 and 80-million locusts per square.
“With each insect capable of eating its own body weight (about 2 grams) in vegetation each day, a swarm that size could consume 192-million kilograms of vegetation each day,” NASA says.
The swarms can strip crops in a matter of hours and are a threat to regional and global food security.
In South Sudan, the greedy insects guzzled crops and grazing land across the country, significantly affecting the incomes and food security of thousands of people.
When people are food insecure, they do not have regular access to enough nutritious foods and don’t know where their next meal will come from.
Locust response project
In response, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which is a global leader in predicting and preventing locust plagues, launched the three-year Emergency Locust Response Project (ERLP) in 2021. ForAfrika assisted them to implement the project in Pibor.
The project, funded by the World Bank, provided the most vulnerable families with cash support, farming implements and seeds, skills training and land restoration initiatives.
Community members also provided their labour in return and helped to rebuild infrastructure, plant crops and other amenities that would benefit everyone.
Learning to fish
Peter Locot, a 37-year-old fisherman, is among the 900 participants of the project. In addition to the cash he earned for his work, he also received quality fishing gear as well as vegetable seeds, tools and training.
“I have been able to start a fish and vegetable business which has so far earned me 500,000 SSP (about $3,800) this year,” says Peter, who has also learned how to preserve his catch.
“During the rainy season, most youth here fish because the fish stocks in the river increase. This increases the amount of fish on the market. Whatever cannot be sold fresh is usually thrown away, but not any longer, we have gotten a solution for this challenge and we will not waste fish anymore!
“Before, we used to survive on wild fruits and livestock products like milk and meat only. Nowadays, I produce food that can last us for at least three months and we now eat two times a day,” he says with a large smile.
Peter has managed to send his children back to school and also acquired other household essentials and livestock. His family of seven can look forward to a bright future.
Andrew Ewoku is Communications Specialist in South Sudan