Governor of Abyei General Kuol Deim Kuol during his visit at the slaughter slab facility funded by the European Union.

The newly appointed Governor of Abyei General Kuol Deim Kuol, among his first official missions, visited the slaughter slab facility recently constructed under the project “Strengthening the Livelihoods Resilience of Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Communities in South Sudan’s cross-border areas with Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda” funded by the European Union (EU).

The purpose of the visit was to visit all governmental institutions and meet key stakeholders, including United Nations Agencies and non-governmental organizations, which are coordinating their efforts to support the resilience building process in the area.

Since 2015, the EU and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have created a solid partnership in Abyei to secure the livelihoods of the most vulnerable groups living in cross-border areas. The majority of them are pastoralist and agro-pastoral communities whose primary choice of livelihood is livestock production. For this reason, the project aims to facilitate access to livestock markets and prevent, detect and control the trade-related transboundary animal diseases.

In this framework, the intervention on the slaughter slab facility and the concurrent work that FAO is carrying out with local institutions, including the State Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries, and Ministry of Health, as well as the livestock traders, are effective measures put in place to address the criticalities in the livestock production system and market.

The new slaughterhouse, which will be fully functioning by the end of 2020, will bring significant achievements in the area in terms of animal welfare, public health and environment, as well as in income increase for the target communities operating in the livestock market.

 “We very much appreciate the work that FAO and EU are doing for our communities in Abyei. We renew our commitment in continuing this fruitful cooperation with both Organizations”, said General Kuol Deim Kuol during his visit.

Through the cross-border project the European Union has mobilized more than 30 million Euro to accompany the pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in South Sudan’s cross border areas on their path towards resilience and livelihoods promotion.

For over 40 years, FAO has been working across both humanitarian and development spheres in South Sudan to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, address climate change and improve the resilience of livelihoods and agricultural systems.