FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol, visits South Sudan underscoring the need to invest in agriculture and transform agrifood systems to enhance food security in the country

3/07/2024 JUBA: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Deputy Director-General (DDG), Beth Bechdol, reiterated FAO’s commitment to support the people of South Sudan, underscoring the need to prioritize investments in agriculture, when 90% of the population rely on farming, livestock rearing and fisheries for their livelihoods.

Her 6-day visit, leading a high-level delegation – including Rein Paulsen, Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, and Lifeng Li, Director of Land and Water –, comes amid concerns of a deteriorating food security situation expected to worsen due looming floods predicted to affect the country from June-July, peaking in September 2024, that could impact between 600,000 and 3.3 million people, based on varying impact scenarios.

“It’s time to invest in agriculture – especially when the most food insecure are farmers themselves. There is so much potential in the agricultural sector of South Sudan, and prioritizing agriculture can make a difference.”

Her visit comes a year after a successful Rome-Based Agencies (RBAs) mission undertaken by the Heads of FAO, World Food Programme (WFP) and International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD) to South Sudan, which set the tone for renewed RBA collaboration.

WFP Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Rukia Abdullahi, joined FAO DDG Bechdol on the ongoing mission. They visited St Mary Magdalene’s primay school in Kapoeta, where WFP provides meals for over 1000 children, and FAO complements these meals with vegetables grown in a school plot to enhance their nutrition and enable to stay longer in school. DDG Bechdol highlighted that “cooperation at RBA level is both strategic and the right thing to do.”

Throughout her visit, DDG Bechdol has met with government authorities, donors, partners and the communities served by FAO. She is bringing attention back to South Sudan, highlighting  challenges faced and the opportunities that exist to change the trends and improve food security.

South Sudan is a land with abundant natural resources. To unlock its full potential, there is need for all stakeholders involved to accept that, to achieve impact of scale, no organization or entity can work in isolation, real change will require joining forces and building on comparative advantages.

During a meeting with DDG Bechdol, the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Josephine Lagu thanked her for the follow-up visit, speaking highly about the partnership between the South Sudan Government through her Ministry and FAO, describing it as “effective and premised on mutual respect”. The Honorable Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Onyoti Adigo, reiterated that FAO is a strong partner, stressing that "livestock is part of food security”.

“FAO is ready to support the people of South Sudan. Alongside partners and the government, FAO is providing the needed water for people and livestock, sources of nutrition for women and children and support to develop the livestock value chain to enable farmers to make a living and support their families,” said DDG Bechdol.

Looming floods

Above normal rainfall forecast this season and large volumes of water being released from Lake Victoria into the Nile River will worsen the floods predicted to surpass the record levels witnessed in September 2022, necessitating a high level of preparedness.

However, the gap is slowly being filled through resilience building measures by UN agencies and local partners to move the country away from dependency to resilience.

“We need to strategize ahead of the floods and set in place early warning systems and anticipatory actions. We need to bridge emergency and resilience. And, we can achieve this by transforming agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable,” said DDG Bechdol.