The German development agency GIZ plans to expand the Community Driven Rural Development (CDRD) project, which is co-financed by the Netherlands, to Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria and Western Bahr el-Ghazal.

GIZ stated, in a press release sent to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, that the expansion will be in the context of a wider EU action; Promoting a green and resilient economy in South Sudan.

GIZ is currently implementing the CDRD project in Magwi and Yei counties in Central and Eastern Equatoria.

The project promotes the development of high-yield, agroecological and climate-resilient agriculture and value chains to improve living conditions in rural areas.

The planned expansion to Western Bahr el-Ghazal will reach an additional 18,500 households through an integrative approach that promotes ecological, sustainable and climate-resilient economic development, contributing to improved food and nutritional security, the press release said.

It quotes Vittoria Longato, Program Officer for Food Security and Rural Development at the EU Delegation in South Sudan, underlining the EU’s commitment to improving food security and agro-economic development through the new action.

GIZ invited stakeholders from Western Bahr el-Ghazal to a meeting in Juba on Thursday in preparation for the expansion.

Jur River County Commissioner James Ernest Makuei thanked GIZ for the collaboration and stressed the importance of the earlier opportunity to share their inputs for development.

The CDRD project has been implemented by GIZ since 2022 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with co-financing from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The multi-donor action with the European Union is expected to start in December 2024.

GIZ is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations that supports the German government in international cooperation for sustainable development.