A civil society organisation, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), has expressed concerns over the dwindling food security in the country and said the trend is having a direct impact on the process of securing political peace and stability in the country.
In a statement sent to the media yesterday, the Executive Director of CEPO, Edmund Yakani, said food insecurity was becoming a threat to human lives and societal growth and an urgent solution was needed.
According to the latest UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, climatic shocks, conflict, economic downturn, displacement, and disrupted livelihoods are the driving forces behind worsening food insecurity. The report states that about 74 million people across the country are facing acute food insecurity during the lean season between April and July 2022.
The IPC report noted that food insecurity is likely to rise by seven percent across South Sudan in the coming months compared to last year.
It states that more than 80 per cent of the South Sudanese population is food-insecure. The affected people are distributed in Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, Lakes, Eastern Equatoria, and Warrap states.
Yakani added that among the key genuine political decisions urgently required are the unifying of the armed forces of various groups across the country, prevention of armed deadly communal violence; investing in sound funds for mitigating climate shocks and the prevention of frictional conflict over the use of land for farming and cattle grazing.
According to Yakani, the failure of some government agencies to handle insecurity in the communities has seriously contributed in hunger.
The red flag comes after the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) announced that heavy rains could fall over East Africa in the months of March and April to May (MAM) seasons.
It was reported that eastern South Sudan would witness an increase in the amount of rain, while western South Sudan would experience a drop in the amount of rain.
“The national authorities such as the South Sudan Food Security Council (RSSFSC); Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; the National Legislative Assembly outstanding committee on Agriculture and other relevant national institutions should urgently hold a national food security conference before or within the month of May 2022. This conference should be treated as essential by the top leadership of the country, “Yakani stressed.