South Sudan: South Sudan Conflict Reverses Progress On Food Security

The conflict in South Sudan risks reversing gains in food security that the country had made over the last year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The two agencies said on Friday that when conflict erupted in December 2013, South Sudan's food security outlook was the best it had been in five years, but the consequences of the conflict threaten to undo the country's progress toward food security, and are likely to impact even parts of South Sudan not directly affected by fighting.

FAO and WFP say the crisis has led to widespread population displacement, loss of food stocks and disruption to trade and migration routes that are pushing millions more into hunger.

"Before mid-December, there was every indication that South Sudan had taken a step forward on food security, but the crisis is taking the country three steps backward instead," said WFP Country Director Chris Nikoi. "Displacements caused by the conflict have left many people needing urgent food assistance."

The states most affected by the conflict, namely Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity, were also the most food insecure prior to the conflict, the agencies said. Compared to the rest of the country, those three states had higher levels of severe food insecurity, the highest cereal deficits in the country and very high dependency on markets for staple food.

"The livelihood systems in these states are diversified, with crops contributing only a portion of annual food needs," said Dr. Sue Lautze, FAO's Head of Office in South Sudan. "What is worrying now is the impact of the conflict on not only crops but also livestock, fishing and trading," Lautze added.

Continuing insecurity is affecting trade routes through which food supplies are brought to other wider areas of South Sudan. The disruption in food supplies is taking place as households exhaust their stocks and enter the period when dependency on markets for food supplies becomes greater, the report said.

Significant delays caused by conflict will also have a serious impact on the ability of households to produce food for the next planting season. Continued unrest is disrupting the coming agricultural season as planting activities need to start across the country from mid-March to mid-June.