I 2012 ventes mindst 1,2 millioner indbyggere i Afrikas nyeste land at mangle mad
JUBA, 27 September 2011 (IRIN): UN agencies are warning that newly independent South Sudan will face chronic food shortages next year due to internal and border insecurity, erratic rains and a huge influx of returnees from the North.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said a Rapid Crop Assessment carried out in August showed South Sudan was likely to produce 420.000-500.000 MT (metric tons) of food this year – half the required amount.
Elijah Mukhala, FAO food security specialist, said it estimated 1,2 million people would be “severely food-insecure” next year, compared with 970.000 last year, with the deficit set to increase by about a quarter from 300.000 MT last year.
– We made gains in 2010. Right now, all these gains are being reversed, and the two main issues are insecurity and rainfall, causing shortages and price rises in both countries, FAO food security coordinator Mtendere Mphatso said.
Separated, not divorced
South Sudan gained independence from the north in July 2011 after decades of civil war that killed around two million and left the country in ruins.
But while secession was peaceful, violence in border areas in Sudan has flared for months. Tens of thousands of refugees have fled southwards from Southern Kordofan, Abyei and Blue Nile, with returnees from Khartoum and subsequent border closures placing a further strain on the now landlocked nation still dependent on the North for most goods.
– For 2012, we are worried for food production on the northern side as they have also had erratic rains, Mphatso said.
In addition, the North has lost many South Sudanese farm labourers, which could result in dramatic price increases and food insecurity for all but the three southern states.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande said more than three million people (36 percent of the population) in South Sudan were classed as moderately or severely food insecure in 2011, and the burden was increasing.
More than 340.000 people have arrived in South Sudan since January, and internal violence has pushed around the same number again away from their homes and fields.
In South Sudan, waves of inter-communal fighting, including cattle rustling, fights over water holes and retaliation attacks, as well as between rebel militia, have left thousands dead or displaced.
More than 600 people were killed in August in eastern Jonglei state alone after cattle raids, and the UN says it has dealt with 34 separate emergency operations this year.
Running out of food
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