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SOUTH SUDAN / BECHDOL FISHERIES

South Sudan’s natural resources including fisheries are abundant and “need to be capitalized,” Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN Beth Bechdol said during her visit to the fishing town of Terekeka, South Sudan.

Language Arabic, English

Country South Sudan

Duration 4m5s

Edit Version International

Video Type Video News Release (VNR)

Date 07/04/2024 12:00 AM

File size 539.91 MB

Unique ID UF174YT

All editorial uses permitted

Production details and shotlist

UNFAO Source FAO Video

Shotlist STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / BECHDOL FISHERIES
TRT: 4:05
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / JUBA ARABIC NATS

DATELINE: 4 JULY 2024, TEREKEKA / MARADI, SOUTH SUDAN

SHOTLIST:

4 JULY 2024, TEREKEKA, SOUTH SUDAN

1. Tracking shot, FAO boat with Bechdol on Nile
2. Tracking shot, boat’s bow and waves
3. Pan left, bird taking fligh over water
4. Tracking shot, fishing camp
5. Med shot, fishermen disembarking from canue
6. Med shot, canue with a family arriving
7. Wide shot, delegation and fishers gathered around smoking oven
8. Close up, fish smoking
9. Med shot, Minister Adigo and DDG Bechdol

4 JULY 2024, MARADI, SOUTH SUDAN

10. Wide shot, delegation touring Agri Business Center
11. Med shot, Adigo and Bechdol cutting the ribbon to open the center
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Onyoti Adigo, South Sudan’s Minister of Livestock and Fisheries:
“We want to commercialize the livestock and we want to commercialize fisheries. So that we are selfsufficient and that we can export ourselves in order to rescue [ourselves from] the present situation where we are suffering economically.”

4 JULY 2024, TEREKEKA, SOUTH SUDAN

13. Wide shot, Nile
14. Wide shot, fisher sitting in shade next to smoking oven
15. Close up, fish smoking

4 JULY 2024, MARADI, SOUTH SUDAN

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN:
“The natural resources are abundant, there is land, there is water, there are livestock herds that are already doing very well and the fisheries are abundant. This needs to be capitalized on, and you can count on the FAO to be an important partner to implement it.”

4 JULY 2024, TEREKEKA, SOUTH SUDAN

17. Wide shot, boat building shop
18. Med shot, boat building shop
19. Closeup, boat in construction phase
20. Various shots, Bechdol and Adigo interacting with young boat builders
21. Close up, boat in construction phase
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN:
“We know that It's important - as an organization - to bring tools, to bring products, to bring equipment, seeds, fertilizers, animal vaccines, fishing supplies. But when you bring knowledge and when you bring training, and you bring education, that's what stays with you.”
23. Pan right, from boat under construction to new boat
24. SOUNDBITE (English) Demissie Redeat Habteselassie, Fisheires Officer, FAO Soth Sudan:
“We have improved fish smoking ovens, improved fish drying racks and this has supported fishing communities to generate more income, to reduce their losses and to diversify their income through value added fish products. And here, normally, the fishing communities are mainly dependant on fish and their ability to produce and to maximize their profit is very important. So, that is what our project is basically working on.”
25. Wide shot, fish processing site
26. Pan left, women scaling fish to Bechdol watching
27. Close up, fish scaling
28. Med shot, Stelle placing fish to dry
29. Various shots, smoked fish
30. Wide shot, Stelle turning fish on a drying rack
31. SOUNDBITE (Juba Arabic) Stelle Clement, restaurant owner:
“The profit I make from my business is a lifeline for my family. It enables me to provide for my children, put food on the table, and ensure they receive medical care when needed.”
32. Various shots, women packing smoked fish in sacks

Script South Sudan’s natural resources including fisheries are abundant and “need to be capitalized,” Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN Beth Bechdol said during her visit to the fishing town of Terekeka, South Sudan.

South Sudan produces around 300,000 tonnes of fish annually, sustaining approximately 2.1million people who are directly reliant on fishing for livelihoods. Fish is the only agricultural commodity that is regularly exported from South Sudan, generating some 30 million dollars per year.

Deputy Director-General Bechdol’s visit to South Sudan came amid concerns of a deteriorating food security situation expected to worsened by anticipated floods predicted to affect the country and peak in September this year.

During her six-day visit, together with South Sudan’s Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Onyoti Adigo, Bechdol visited Terekeka, one of the two main fisheries locations in the country (the other one is in Bor) where FAO has been implementing a five-year "Fisher Community Resilience Enhancement Project (FICREP)" through a five million USD fund from the Kingdom of the Netherlands to address some of the key challenges from the climate crisis.

The project aims to enhance the resilience of fisher communities and improve the availability and quality of fish by creating an enabling environment for sustainable fisheries production, reducing post-harvest losses, and optimizing the fisheries value chain.

SOUNDBITE (English) Onyoti Adigo, South Sudan’s Minister of Livestock and Fisheries:
“We want to commercialize the livestock, and we want to commercialize fisheries. So that we are self-sufficient and that we can export ourselves in order to rescue [ourselves from] the present situation, where we are suffering economically.”

The fisheries resources of South Sudan are underutilized, and there is considerable potential for development, with markets spanning major towns and neighboring countries like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are however multifaceted challenges, including high post-harvest losses; inadequate handling, processing and preservation practices; poor institutional capacity and coordination; lack of cold chain and infrastructure; as well as rudimentary and inefficient practices throughout the value chain.

SOUNDBITE (English) Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN:
“The natural resources are abundant. There is land, there is water, there are livestock herds that are already doing very well, and the fish stocks are abundant. This needs to be capitalized on, and you can count on FAO to be an important partner to implement it.”

Among other objectives, the project organized 20 fishing groups and, for the first time, established an improved canoe-building facility for youth in South Sudan. This facility equipped and trained 40 young traditional canoe builders to apply epoxy resin to strengthen fishing vessels, making them repairable, and more durable than the vessels not treated with epoxy resin.

SOUNDBITE (English) Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN:
“We know that it's important – as an organization – to bring tools, to bring products, to bring equipment, seeds, fertilizers, animal vaccines, fishing supplies. But when you bring knowledge and when you bring training, and you bring education, that's what stays with you.”

The project also emphasizes optimizing the fisheries value chain. In this, active focus is given to improved post- harvest activities through promoting improved fish handling, processing, and preservation practices. The project has distributed equipment and carried out training to improve fish drying and smoking technologies.

SOUNDBITE (English) Demissie Redeat Habteselassie, Fisheries Officer, FAO South Sudan:
“We have improved fish smoking ovens, improved fish drying racks and this has supported fishing communities to generate more income, to reduce their losses and to diversify their income through value added fish products. And here, normally, the fishing communities are mainly dependent on fish and their ability to produce and to maximize their profit is very important. So, that is what our project is basically working on.”

The resilience building measures – such as, supporting local seed production, building infrastructures to improve access to safe water, providing nutritious meals to school children – undertaken under the Rome-Based UN Agencies - FAO, World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to move the country away from aid dependency to resilience are slowly showing results, helping people like Stelle Clement, a fishmonger and a restaurant owner to make ends meet and support her family.

SOUNDBITE (Juba Arabic) Stelle Clement, restaurant owner:
“The profit I make from my business is a lifeline for my family. It enables me to provide for my children, put food on the table, and ensure they receive medical care when needed.”

South Sudan’s economy is predominantly based on oil, accounting for about 95 percent of exports and is a fundamental driver of the government's revenue. However, the country faces volatile economic growth with inflation pushing approximately 1.6 million people, or about 12 percent of the total population, into vulnerability. These are particularly the urban poor who earn in South Sudanese Pounds, but face prices indexed to USD. The lack of economic diversity in the rural areas, such as opportunities in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises related to agriculture, forestry or fisheries, has driven many young people to migrate to urban areas in search of employment and other economic opportunities.

South Sudan has abundant natural resources – land, water, fish and livestock. However, much of the potential for agricultural development is still untapped, with only 4 percent of arable land being cultivated.

Over the last 40 years, FAO has been implementing both humanitarian and development interventions in South Sudan to protect, save and restore livelihoods, reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, address climate change, build resilience of local communities, and transform agrifood systems.

FAO's resilience work encompasses all aspects of agriculture, crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, and natural resource management.