The United Nations Industrial Development Organization is providing meat processors with new skills and tools to help improve food security and the income of the rural population in the Greater Bahr El Ghazal region of South Sudan.
More than 100 butchers, flayers and hide and skin processors from Wau, Aweil, Kuajok and Rumbek received trainings and tools to improve their skills so they can produce high-quality meat for local consumption and quality hides and skins for the international markets.
The activities were organized as part of a UNIDO project funded by the European Union (EU) to enhance local value addition and strengthen agro-value chains.
The training aimed to increase meat quality using new slaughtering, flaying, de-fleshing and de-fatting techniques as well as to improve the processing and preservation of hides and skins using techniques like salting, drying, shorting, grading and tagging.
Toolkits were also provided containing items such as knives, aprons, knife sharpening devices, safety boots and wheelbarrows.
The trainees expressed their gratitude for the support received from UNIDO and the EU and stated that it was the first time they had received such quality toolkits, which will contribute to increasing their efficiency and the quality of their work.
The Director General at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Aweil State, Samuel Ajing, added that the new skills and toolkits will contribute to increasing the income of the meat processors.
The project also contributed to the maintenance of a clean working environment by providing tools – such as pressure washing machines and wheelbarrows – to selected facilities. Trainings on safety, basic maintenance and the use of equipment were also conducted.
