Feed and livestock resources
in South Sudan
Meneya Ahmed Fadlemula and Girima Elika Toma
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries/Research Services, South Sudan
Identifying Investment Opportunities for Livestock Feed Resources Development in
the Eastern Africa Sub-Region, ILRI Addis, 13–15 December 2017

Feed resources status in South Sudan
Livestock population
• Cattle: 11.1 million
• Sheep : 12.1 million
• Goat: 12.4 million
Human population
• Per 2009 population census, there are 8,600,000 million people in South Sudan of which 80% are
pastoralists and agro-pastoralists
Ecological zones
• South Sudan has six ecological zones

Livestock feed resources
• Natural pasture
• Crop residue/ hay
• Imported poultry feeds from Uganda
Livestock production systems
• Predominantly under the extensive system of rearing
• Very limited under semi-intensive
Early efforts to improve production
• Establishment of a macro dairy farm in Central Equatoria state from 1974 to
1992
• Establishment of Marial Bai dairy and poultry in Wau State from 1980 to
1986

Livestock feed resources
Tools utilized in feed production
• Manual use of tools in trial and error formulation
Challenges
• Ongoing conflict hampering livestock development
• Absence of government support in terms of policies that support
feed and livestock development
• Inadequate capacity to manage livestock development taking into
consideration the total area and the presence of ongoing conflicts

Livestock distribution
The majority of livestock in South Sudan are concentrated in the
following areas:
• The greater Bahr El Ghazal area
• Wau state
• Lakes state
• Warrap state
• Jonglei state
The state with the lowest livestock populations is West Equatoria
(Yambio, Maridi and Mundri counties), due to the prevalence of tsetse
flies

Way forward: South Sudan
• Create an environment conducive to investment in the livestock
sector
• Revive former national livestock projects
• Embark upon capacity building and enhancement of extension
services
• Lobby for policy reform by the government
• Enhance diagnostic and research laboratory facilities