A farmer prepares the soil on his farm with a hoe ahead of planting season, Gitikiri, Yambio County, South Sudan. ©FAO/Arete/Patrick Meinhardt

The World Bank has announced a 30-million-dollar grant to support good agricultural practices, agroforestry and natural resource management skills of farmers, fisher-folks and livestock herders in South Sudan.

South Sudan is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries.

The country has suffered from climate change shocks with excessive flooding for four consecutive years that destroyed livelihoods and increased food insecurity.

The next flooding is predicted to peak in September 2024 and could impact between 600, 000 and 3.3 million people.

The contribution – through World Bank’s International Development Association – aims to scale up actions to build farmers’ climate resilience in the face of flooding and other disaster risks.

It will be implemented in partnership with the government of South Sudan, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The project will help to adapt climate-smart technologies to enhance agricultural production, including rain-fed rice cultivation in flood-affected areas; reduce deforestation through the introduction of fuel-efficient ovens; support the livestock sector and animal health through surveillance, reporting and diagnostics; provide post-harvest support for fish processing and handling; and provide disaster risk management equipment for early warning.

The three-year project aims to benefit more than 140,000 households including over 98 000 households affected by floods in host communities, 40,000 returnees and 5 000 refugees.

It will be implemented by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in a hybrid implementation arrangement that gradually builds national capacity for project management.

The project will also provide seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs and tools required to reduce the adverse effects of climate variability and allow for sufficient crops to be harvested.

“This contribution is crucial to boost smallholder farmers’ resilience to increasing climate shocks and to minimize damage to their crops, livestock and source of livelihoods. We need to act before extreme events happen, rather than responding to disasters after they occur.

“Agriculture is particularly vulnerable to these climate shocks, and where 90 percent of the population are relying on farming, herding and fishing for their livelihoods, investing in safeguarding crops, livestock and inputs is of utmost importance,” said Beth Bechdol is FAO’s Deputy Director-General.

According to UN agencies, in South Sudan, more than 7 million people are estimated to experience high levels of acute food insecurity from April to July 2024.