Dr. Betty Achan Ogwaro was interviewed during a visit to IFPRI in October 2012

“A hungry nation is an angry nation. A hungry house is an angry house…” Those words by Dr. Betty Achan Ogwaro, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Development of the newly formed Republic of South Sudan, set the tone for a candid  video interview she gave during a recent visit to IFPRI’s headquarters in Washington, DC. 

Food is not only necessary for an individual’s survival, but also a nation’s, Ogwaro points out. As a native of Sudan, Ogwaro has witnessed firsthand the decades of war and conflict that ultimately led to the birth of South Sudan, and knows that to prosper as a nation, her new country must ensure that its citizens have sustained access to an adequate and nutritious supply of food.

Out of a history of conflict, however, Ogwaro sees cause for hope. First, the country’s fertile soils, adequate water supply, and low population density all support the case for investing in agriculture. Second, past conflicts in the region actually kept the land uncultivated and unspoiled—“as virgin as God created it,” says Ogwaro, which means it is in good farming condition.

But the distance between agricultural potential and food security is vast, and Ogwaro is encouraging private and public investors to help South Sudan bridge the gap, specifically to target investments building human capacity for conducting research and farmer education, and developing smallholder friendly technologies. Ultimately, Ogwaro says, her goal is for her country to not only feed itself, “but feed the world.”