FAO seeks $77m to avert food crisis in South Sudan

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Wednesday appealed for 77 million U.S. dollars for critical food security and livelihood support for the 3.7 million crisis-affected population in South Sudan. In a statement, the UN food agency also warned of a major food security and nutrition crisis in South Sudan, where millions of people are now facing acute or emergency levels of food insecurity. FAO Head of Office in South Sudan Sue Lautze said prices of staple crops soar and basic commodities run out due to the collapse of the markets. "South Sudan was already the scene of one of the world's largest humanitarian operations before the fighting began, and the situation is now deteriorating rapidly," said Lautze said in the statement. FAO's appeal comes a day after UN agencies and NGOs have revised a Crisis Response Plan and are now seeking a total of 1.27 billion dollars to meet urgent humanitarian needs in the first half of 2014. The revised Crisis Response Plan was revised to reflect the deterioration of the humanitarian situation. Nearly 60 percent of the funding will go towards pre-positioning of vital aid supplies before the rainy season starts in June. According to the UN, an estimated seven million people are at risk of some level of food insecurity in the world's newest nation. FAO plans to assist a total of 545 000 households, by providing rapid emergency livelihood support in the most affected states in South Sudan while protecting food production in the less-affected areas. "Markets have collapsed, infrastructure is damaged, foreign traders have fled, commodity supply corridors have been disrupted by violence, and rural populations are unable to bring their crops, livestock and fish to market for sale," Lautze said. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), relief agencies are scaling up the response to assist 3.2 million people through June, based on rigorous prioritization. This includes relief for displaced people and host communities, refugees, and others whose lives and livelihoods are at immediate risk. Aid organizations also plan to provide emergency relief, uphold people's rights and strengthen livelihoods. Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, who recently visited South Sudan said missing the main planting season will have serious knock-on effects on food production and availability in the country in 2014 and on into 2015. "At the moment supply corridors have been disrupted or completely shut down in many areas of the country, and farmers need urgent assistance to access vital agricultural inputs in time, " Burgeon said. FAO has received 4.25 million dollars of the 77 million dollars needed to implement the emergency response plan. According to FAO, livestock production is threatened by potential animal disease outbreaks such as East Coast fever and peste des petits ruminants as unvaccinated herds mingle with vaccinated livestock. This situation is worsened by the partial collapse of the cold chain for vaccine storage due to looting and ongoing violence.