By Gum Makur Gum,
March 4, 2021(Nyamilepedia) — As a nation we are wasting about 30 percent of what we produced annually, today our country is grappling with the problem of food waste.
Our farmers grew these foods, and they spent a large amount of their labor and money to make it available, yet we don’t utilize it properly to meet today and tomorrow’s demands.
In South Sudan, for instance, when farming begins everybody sits back and watches, when agricultural products are reaped, almost everybody can be engaged in consumption even those who are not involved during farming, South Sudanese let be producers instead of consuming what we have not sweat for.
On the other hand, plenty of food is being thrown away (leftovers) because much is being cooked. Women can try to be rational, even rains and river waters get finished if not properly managed. Almost 50 percent of our population is starving from hunger yet we waste food at homes and throw away leftovers. Women can start saving food and give surplus to those who need it most. The supply is more than enough but the excess is lacking, can we try to tighten our belts. Some of us are troubled by inflation and the prices in the market are skyrocketing. Our farmers wasted a large amount of food during harvesting, assembling, sorting, storing, retailing and consumption. I know some of us never care about tomorrow, as long as we are satisfied today.
Let us make it a habit to plan what to consume today and tomorrow and in what quantity shall we consume it. Every time we eat whether at home or on occasion, let us make it a habit to always take the quantity that we are capable of consuming. Never allow anyone to serve you or force you to eat against your will.
It is my hope that each one of us has a role to play in combating food waste, we wasted a lot of money if it can be converted into monetary value. It is therefore imperative that South Sudanese women and girls should take note of this and start saving food; I know how difficult it is in my culture to restrict food consumption but let’s make a difference. Let’s save food, let’s save our economy.
The writer is Director of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment of Yirol East County, Lakes State. He can be reach at gummakur75@gmail.com
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