Fact-check: South Sudan is NOT the largest producer of okra in Africa

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South Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations have no data on how much okra South Sudan produces. Official statistics name Nigeria as the largest producer of okra in Africa.

By Emmanuel Bida Thomas 

African Report files, a Facebook blog page with 183K followers, claimed in a post on September 3, 2022, that South Sudan is the largest producer of Okra in Africa.

Screenshot of a Facebook post claiming that South Sudan is the largest producer of Okra in Africa

The claim drew 1.6K interactions, 180 comments, and 357 shares on Facebook and was re-posted by The Mail and ACC Tv.

The same claim was shared by a Twitter user here on September 7, 2022. While some audiences believed it was accurate, others argued it was false.

However, according to data on the global production of okra by Atlas, Nigeria is the second largest producer of Okra in the world, with 1,819,018 tonnes of yearly production, making it the first in Africa. The same data can be found in the diversity times.

Screenshot showing World Okra Production by Country

The database of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, FAOSTAT, which has a wealth of agricultural information, including okra, also names Nigeria as the largest producer of okra in Africa.

Okra production in Africa, according to data from FAO

Okra Production in South Sudan:

An internet search on okra production in South Sudan returns no data on how many tonnes the country produces yearly.

Statistics on FAOSTATS indicate “missing value (data cannot exist, not applicable)” for okra production in South Sudan.

211 Check reached out to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, but they could not immediately provide statistics on okra production in South Sudan.

Conclusion:

211 Check has looked into a claim that South Sudan is the largest producer of okra in South Sudan and finds it to be false. Both South Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations have no data on how much okra South Sudan produces. Official statistics name Nigeria as the largest producer of okra in Africa.

Fact-check: No evidence the World Academic Competition exists

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The competition has no digital footprint, and major news outlets haven’t reported it. A rare case of global competition.

By Ochaya Jackson

Social media reports going viral have indicated that South Sudanese Gai Malong Awan has won the “World Academic Competition” which was reportedly held in London. 

According to the certificate of appreciation, Gai Malong was pictured with and posted on social media, the event was allegedly held on September 12th.

“South Sudanese, Mr. Gai Malong Awan wins top position at The World Academic Competition (WAC) in London. Gai scored an average of 94% in all exams. The competition ranked South Sudan in the first position, followed by England, Sweden and USA,” reads the Facebook post seen by 211 Check.

Screenshot of post announcing Gai’s win

However, did this competition even happen, or does it even exist? 211 Check investigated this assertion.

Digital Footprint:

A simple google search returns no result related to The World Academic Compeition. It has no digital footprints both on websites and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Facebook and Twitter searches only return results related to posts of Gai winning the competition.

The email:

When 211 Check wrote to the email [email protected] indicated in the competition’s letterhead, Andy Carrel who manages the email said, “I don’t know anything about these claims or any competition by that name.”

Screenshot of email reply from [email protected] 

The World Academic Competition category is not among the global academic competitions for students 2022-2023. The link is here  

Photos shared with the claim:

The report also included the picture of thousands of spectators claimed to be attendees of the event alongside South Sudanese Gai Malong Awan, but reverse image searches on some of the photos return results of the same photos from different events and not a World Academic Competition. 

Two of the photos was taken during World Scholars Cup by A.B. Paterson College Foundation….without Gai Malong among them. The link is here and here.

Another photo purportedly of panelists during the competition can be found on the website of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations.

The Logo:

The WAC logo

The logo used in the claim of World Academic Competition appears to be impersonating the “Seal of the World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions at Yale University in the United States of America.” The link is here.

Seal of the World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions at Yale University in the United States of America

Conclusion:


211 Check has looked into a claim that a World Academic Competition (WAC) was held in London on 12 September 2022 and finds it unproven. The competition has no digital footprint, and major news outlets haven’t reported it. A rare case of global competition.