The Government of South Sudan, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank, is enhancing its support for smallholder farmers to build resilience against climate-related challenges, including recurring floods and extreme weather conditions.
A significant $30 million grant from the World Bank's International Development Association aims to support sustainable agricultural practices, agroforestry, and natural resource management for farmers, fisherfolks, and livestock herders.
This initiative will introduce climate-smart technologies to boost agricultural production, such as rainfed rice cultivation in flood-prone areas, and will also reduce deforestation through the adoption of fuel-efficient ovens. Moreover, the livestock sector will benefit from improved surveillance, reporting, and diagnostics to enhance animal health, while the fisheries sector will receive post-harvest support for processing and handling. Disaster risk management equipment will also be provided to facilitate early warning systems.
Over the next three years, this project aims to reach more than 140,000 households, including over 98,000 affected by floods, 40,000 returnees, and 5,000 refugees. The project will be jointly implemented by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, with a hybrid approach that gradually builds national capacity for project management. Additionally, seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and other essential agricultural inputs will be provided to mitigate the adverse effects of climate variability and ensure sufficient crop harvests.
South Sudan, one of the most climate-vulnerable nations, has experienced severe climate change impacts, with excessive flooding over the past four years destroying livelihoods and exacerbating food insecurity. Predictions indicate that flooding will peak again in September 2024, potentially affecting between 600,000 and 3.3 million people.
FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol highlighted the importance of proactive measures, stressing the need to boost smallholder farmers’ resilience to increasing climate shocks and to minimize damage to their crops, livestock, and sources of livelihoods. She emphasized the necessity of acting before extreme events occur, rather than responding to disasters afterward. With agriculture being particularly vulnerable to these climate shocks and 90 percent of the population relying on farming, herding, and fishing for their livelihoods, she underscored the critical importance of investing in safeguarding crops, livestock, and agricultural inputs.
Currently, more than 7 million people in South Sudan are facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and above) from April to July 2024, with 79,000 expected to experience Catastrophe levels (IPC Phase 5).
The compounded effects of excessive flooding, alongside an influx of returnees and refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan, threaten to further escalate the risk of famine and destitution in the country.
