Beneficiary receiving crop seeds during ELRP distribution in Warrap State, South Sudan

Ajok Akuith is 22 years old and the mother of five children. They live in Maluilajak Village, Warrap State, where they own 2.5 acres of land right next to a river. To survive and feed their children, Ajok and her husband plant vegetables, herd a few animals and catch fish from the river.

Despite all these abundant resources, the food is never enough to give a healthy and nutritious diet to their children and the money they earn does not cover school fees. On top of this, the heavy rains that hit the region in the wet season flood the whole area, making it impossible to harvest what they plant. Ajok does not even have the basic agricultural tools to farm her piece of land.

“We just survive with what we earn by selling our vegetables at the market near here, but in my family, we are often hungry and when we get sick, we risk to die as we can’t afford the treatment,” says Ajok and then adds, “life is very hard in this area.”

As part of the Emergency Livelihood Response Programme (ELRP), to support vulnerable rural families like Ajok’s, FAO with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), distributed seeds, essential farming tools and fishing kits to over 300 000 households, or 1.8 million people, all across South Sudan during the Organization’s main season response.

“With COVID-19 my life has changed. We are told to stay at home to preserve our health, so we are not working and earning anything,” Ajok complains. “We have no option – it’s better to work and risk rather than starve.”

Despite slow-downs and restrictions imposed on the movement of personnel and equipment due to COVID-19, FAO has found innovative ways to distribute seeds, cash and life-saving inputs to vulnerable farmers during the planting season, avoiding them to face a spectrum of hunger.

This year, thanks to FAO and support of the partner organization Humanity Empowerment Leadership Promotion Organisation (HELPO), Ajok received high-quality sorghum seeds and also vegetables seeds including watermelon, tomato, onion and collard, as well as farming hand tools such as malodas and hoes, and fishing kits including hooks and twines.

To ensure she can make most profit out of what she receives, Ajok will plant the crop seeds that are resistant to flooding and the other vegetable seeds around her homestead so that by August she will be able to feed her entire family. “I will sell what remains at the market to buy other food, some clothes and to pay the school fees for my children.”  

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, FAO through the ELRP is committed to reaching 4.8 million vulnerable people in South Sudan with livelihood support in 2020.

The Government of the United States of America (through USAID) is the largest contributor to FAO’s emergency response in South Sudan, including hard-to-reach areas. This year alone, USAID has provided USD 25 million to support over 400 000 vulnerable households during the main, second and dry seasons.