JUBA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Boosting private-sector investment in South Sudan's agriculture and livestock sectors is critical to achieving food self-sufficiency and transitioning the nation from humanitarian dependence to sustainable development, experts said on Tuesday.

"South Sudan has spent 800 million U.S. dollars annually over the last five years on regional food imports," said Meshack Malo, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) deputy regional representative for Africa, during the opening of the four-day agriculture conference in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

With food making up roughly 63 percent of all yearly imports, Malo noted that the nation now ranks as one of Africa's most food-dependent economies.

Malo underscored that every dollar spent on food imports represents a missed opportunity for domestic production, job creation for youth, and value addition, adding that the goal is to expose local and international private sectors to the South Sudan market to build economic resilience.

Felix Dzvurumi, FAO acting representative in South Sudan, highlighted that addressing land access and providing legal protection for farming are primary goals to remove barriers for investors and ensure long-term stability for farmers.

According to a recent United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, 7.8 million people in South Sudan are projected to face deteriorating food insecurity and acute hunger during the upcoming lean season. ■