The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads global efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. In South Sudan, this entails closely linking short-term crisis response activities with longer-term development actions with the goal of helping millions of South Sudanese farmers, fishers and livestock owners to build resilient livelihoods. FAO’s support to the people of South Sudan has been longstanding. Prior to the signing of the CPA, FAO was helping to build capacities within the newly emerging nation’s institutions through massive, comprehensive interventions like the Sudan Productivity Capacity Recovery Programme and the Sudan Institutional Capacity Programme: Food Security Information for Action. Since the onset of the current crisis, FAO has significantly scaled up efforts to provide immediate, lifesaving assistance, while remaining strongly committed to continuing development programmes in less affected areas. With over USD 60 million generously contributed by donor partners, as well as FAO’s own resources, the Organization’s multi-year development projects in South Sudan are being implemented throughout the country with the goal of building resilient livelihoods.
All activities are formulated and implemented through the combined efforts of FAO, government counterparts, national partners and the people of South Sudan themselves. Key ongoing initiatives include Farmer and Pastoralist Field Schools, seed multiplication and support to build national and community seed systems, strengthening the capacities of extension services, natural resource management, boosting fisheries industries, addressing land tenure issues and agroforestry, improving slaughterhouse practices and producing critical information on agriculture and food security. Although the need for emergency relief remains high, resilience and development work will continue to lay the foundation for recovery and reduce the need for humanitarian assistance in the long run. FAO’s objectives for development include increasing market-oriented production, strengthening farmer-based organizations and cooperatives, enhancing service providers’ engagement in agribusiness, building the capacity of the Government in food security information and analysis and improving community stability and resilience to crises.