Absence of flooding threatens food security in the south

The absence of flooding in many parts of southern Sudan has increased the uncertainty over the yield of fish and water lily between November 2004 and May 2005, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) told IRIN today. “These wild food sources sustain households during the November to May dry-season, making up at least 50 percent of households’ annual food basket in most parts of southern Sudan,” FEWS NET’s representative for southern Sudan, Everlyn Muchomba, explained. The lack of flooding is a result of below average rainfall in many of the catchments of southern Sudan, including the Ethiopian highlands and Lake Victoria. Fish and water lily production is, to a large extent, dependent on the rising water levels as a result of increased water inflow from these catchment areas. FEWS NET’s Food Security Update for southern Sudan, dated 26 October, observed the reduced availability of these important wild foods could pose a serious threat to food levels when combined with this year’s below normal crop performance. The situation is expected to become most critical between January and May 2005 and needs to be closely monitored. Improved rains during August and September helped the main crops of sorghum and groundnuts to recover from the June to July dry period in some southern regions. These crops are now being harvested and will slightly improve with the food security situation over the next months. However, the rains were not sufficient to offset deficits accumulated during the June to July dry spell, FEWS NET warned. A rapid-needs assessment in southeastern Sudan, conducted by the World Food Programme (WFP) during 1 to 20 September, concluded that besides the below-normal rainfall, crop yields had also been negatively affected by inter-ethnic conflicts and reported militia attacks. WFP’s public information officer, Marcus Prior, who visited the region in late October confirmed the outcomes of the assessment. “In the southern Sudanese state of Bahr el Ghazal, the harvest has been very poor this year because of the lack of rain,” Prior said. “In addition, a much smaller area than previous years has been cultivated because of hostilities in the region.” The anticipated return of a large group of former refugees, following the signing of the final peace agreement, could further compromise the delicate food security situation, the WFP report added. The WFP assessment recommended that the current level of food assistance, targeted for 860,000 people, had to be extended to cover the hunger period. The 21-year war in southern Sudan between the government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) has displaced an estimated four million people internally, with over 500,000 Sudanese living in neighbouring states as refugees. The bulk of these refugees live in Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to UNHCR. However, hope for a peaceful resolution to the southern conflict has grown with ongoing negotiations between the SPLM/A and the government, being conducted in Kenya. In May, both sides signed six key protocols covering power-sharing arrangements. They also agreed to the creation of an administration to control three contested areas during a six-year period, at the end of which, a referendum will be held to determine whether the south would remain a part of Sudan. The protocols outlined the arrangement of a decentralised government of national unity and devolution of power to Sudan's individual states. The south would, during the interim period, have its own constitution that would conform with the transitional national constitution.