An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) visited South Sudan from 15 to 20 December 2019 to estimate the cereal production during 2019 and assess the overall food security situation in the country. The CFSAM reviewed the findings of several Crop Assessment Missions conducted from June to December 2019 at planting and harvest time in different agro‑ecological zones of the country.
An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) conducted an analysis from 7 to 16 December 2020 to estimate the cereal production in South Sudan during 2020, based on a review of data and information collected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS). The Mission also reviewed secondary data from a variety of sources in order to produce an overview of the overall food security situation in the country. Due to COVID-19‑related travel restrictions, the analysis was performed remotely through several video‑conferences with relevant staff of the FAO Office in South Sudan. The CFSAM reviewed the findings of several Crop Assessment Missions conducted at harvest time from August, following the removal of COVID‑19‑related travel restrictions, to December 2020, in different agro‑ecological zones of the country.
The annual FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) was conducted from 3 to 14 December 2023 to estimate the annual cereal production during 2023 and assess the overall food security situation in the country. [Author] The CFSAM reviewed the findings of 36 crop assessment missions conducted at planting and harvesting time between June and November 2023 in different agroecological zones of the country. [Author] Using standard CFSAM procedures, the Task Force teams reviewed secondary sources of information regarding the main factors that affected crop performance during the 2023 agricultural season, estimated the aggregate national cereal production and assessed the overall food security situation. [Author] Where access in some areas was too dangerous due to high levels of insecurity, telephone interviews with key informants were carried out to obtain information about crop performance. [Author] After the signature of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan in September 2018, there has been a significant number of returns of displaced farming households, which contributed to the production increases. [Author] Therefore, the cessation of all hostilities and the implementation of the agreement is the primary recommendation to ensure and sustain progress in terms of agricultural activities to improve the country’s food security situation. [Author] While recognizing the complexity of the reconciliation and peace‑building process, the following recommendations are made on the basis that the national peace deal continues to hold, for a better future of the people of South Sudan. [Author]
The annual FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) was conducted from 1 to 16 December 2022 to estimate the cereal production in South Sudan during 2022 and assess the overall food security situation in the country. The CFSAM reviewed the findings of several crop assessment missions conducted at planting and harvest time from June to November 2022 in different agroecological zones of the country. All missions were carried out by a crop assessment Task Force Team comprising staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the respective State Ministry of Agriculture (SMoA). Task Force Team members were trained to conduct rapid assessments using established CFSAM instruments, protocols and techniques, including walking transects, scoring standing crops and livestock body conditions according to the Pictorial Evaluation Tool (PET),ii crop cuttings to assess yields, performing key informant interviews and farmer case studies. After the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan in September 2018, there has been a significant number of returns of displaced farming households, which contributed to the production increases. Therefore, the cessation of all hostilities and the implementation of the agreement is the primary recommendation to progress in terms of agricultural development in order to improve the country’s food security situation. While understanding the complexity of the reconciliation and peace-building process, the recommendations are made assuming that the national peace deal continues to hold, for a better future for the people of South Sudan.
The annual FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) was conducted from 7 to 17 December 2021 to estimate the cereal production in South Sudan during 2021 and assess the overall food security situation in the country. The CFSAM reviewed the findings of several crop assessment missions conducted at planting and harvest time from June to December 2021 in different agroecological zones of the country. All missions were carried out by an agricultural task force team that comprised staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the respective State Ministry of Agriculture (SMoA), abiding to health protocols for the protection from the COVID-19 pandemic. Task force team members have been trained during the past years to conduct rapid assessments using established CFSAM instruments, protocols and techniques, including walking transects, scoring standing crops according to the pictorial evaluation tool (PET), yield levels and livestock body condition, performing key informant interviews and farmer case studies.
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The situation in South Sudan has proven to be unpredictable and volatile. New hotspots of violent conflict and civil unrest have continued to emerge and levels of severe acute food insecurity have become progressively worse. In addition to years of fighting and political instability, the country faces natural hazards, disease and pests, such as the desert locust, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Collectively, these risks have had and continue to have a catastrophic impact on the lives and livelihoods of South Sudanese, the majority of whom rely on agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries as their main source of income. To respond to humanitarian needs, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched the latest iteration of its Emergency Livelihood Response Programme (ELRP) in South Sudan, which was first introduced in early 2014. The document presents the multiyear Programme for 2021–2023 and outlines how FAO aims to save lives, to enhance households' livelihoods and own food production, and to improve their resilience to future shocks. FAO revises its strategy each year to address the ever-emerging challenges facing food security and agriculture, integrate lessons learned and adapt modalities to the prevailing situation.
Ethiopia has experienced impressive agricultural growth and poverty reduction, stemming in part from substantial public investments in agriculture. Yet, the agriculture sector now faces increasing land and water constraints along with other challenges to growth. Ethiopia’s Agrifood System: Past Trends, Present Challenges, and Future Scenarios presents a forward-looking analysis of Ethiopia’s agrifood system in the context of a rapidly changing economy. Growth in the agriculture sector remains essential to continued poverty reduction in Ethiopia and will depend on sustained investment in the agrifood system, especially private sector investment. Many of the policies for a successful agricultural and rural development strategy for Ethiopia are relevant for other African countries, as well. Ethiopia’s Agrifood System should be a valuable resource for policymakers, development specialists, and others concerned with economic development in Africa south of the Sahara.
FAO teamed up with the World Bank on this strategic analysis of the investment, policy and institutional support needed to shift South Sudan’s agriculture sector from humanitarian relief to a development-oriented growth path. The team carried out a thorough review of lessons learned in South Sudan and other conflict-affected countries and held consultations with a wide range of stakeholders in the country. As a result, four complementary investment strategies were identified: agriculture production and food security; community resilience and social capital; value chain development and jobs; and peace consolidation. The authors advocate for combining these four strategies in a flexible way, depending on how the shocks currently affecting agriculture (conflict, violence, macro-economic instability, governance, natural disasters) evolve in the coming years. The Government of South Sudan and the World Bank consider this analytical work a milestone that will pave the way for future investments in agriculture and rural development in the country. This publication is part of the Country Investment Highlights series under the FAO Investment Centre’s Knowledge for Investment (K4I) programme.
The paper analyzes the determinants of long-term individual and community resilience for food and nutrition security in South Sudan using data from multiple sources including key informant interviews, household and community surveys, and georeferenced secondary data on climate, agricultural production, irrigation, and market access. Major agricultural development constraints as well as incidence of and responses to shocks and conflict are described. Climate-crop modeling and simulation methods are used to evaluate the constraints and to identify crop investment options. Then, a spatial typology of food and nutrition security is used to evaluate the constraints along the production-to-nutrition pathway to identify interventions that target different segments of the chain and options for improving agriculture and broader development outcomes. These are classified into production, access, and utilization efficiencies, and whether the underlying constraints are structural (i.e., level of efficiency remains the same over time) or stochastic (i.e., level of efficiency changes over time). The analysis is focused on about a dozen selected counties. The results show that development challenges are being compounded by climate change, with significant increases in the mean annual rainfall and daily maximum temperature for the warmest month. Between 1975 and 2016 for example, the mean annual rainfall in the selected counties increased by 40-111 mm/year, with a rise in the intensity of 0.2-1.3 mm per event. The daily maximum temperature for the warmest month increased by 2.0-3.2°C. If these trends (especially for temperature) continue to 2050, crop yields are projected to decline in the selected counties on average by 12-23% for sorghum, 9-18% for maize, 19-30% for groundnuts, and 16-24% for cassava. In general, there is an inverse-U-shaped the relationship between temperature and yields. While the peak of the inverse U varies by crop, time of the growing season, and other factors, crops in South Sudan are typically on the downward sloping side of the inverse U implying that increases in temperature will decrease yields (and at an increasing rate). Results of a spatial typology show that a majority (78%) of the selected counties are classified as having medium production efficiency and 22% as low production efficiency, none with high production efficiency. With respect to access to nutritious food, 55%, 29%, and 17% of the counties are classified as low, medium, and high access efficiency, respectively. And regarding the conversion of food access into nutritional status, 37%, 26%, and 37% are classified as low, medium, and high utilization efficiency, respectively. Whereas production efficiency mostly remains constant over time, (with only 24% of the counties recording substantial changes in efficiency level), access and utilization efficiency appear more volatile (with substantial changes observed in 52% of the counties). These results suggest that the access segment of the production-to-nutrition value chain is the most constraining, followed by the utilization segment. The differences in the results across counties reflect differences in development constraints across the country, which are also described. Implications of the results for building long-term individual and community resilience are discussed, in addition to areas for further research. Given the complex nature of crises facing South Sudan, our findings call for a comprehensive policy approach to address not only the urgent humanitarian crisis but also to help restore agricultural production systems as well as support communities to cope, recover, and build their vii resilience to shocks and crises. This is in line with the Partnership for Recovery and Resilience (PfRR) integrated programme framework for resilience which comprises four pillars: i) re-establish access to basic services, ii) rebuild trust in people and institutions, iii) restore productive capacities, and iv) nurture effective partnerships.
