Publications Archive

The Sudan Institutional Capacity Programme: Food Security Information for Action (SIFSIA) programme in Southern Sudan made significant advances towards meeting its objectives in 2009. Building on the work started in 2008, SIFSIA-South recorded tremendous progress in building the capacity of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and the ten states in Southern Sudan in food security information collection, analysis and dissemination. Among the major milestones reached during the year was the operationalization of the Southern Sudan Food Security Council (FSC), which was established by Presidential Decree in June 2008. The first meeting of the FSC, chaired by the President and attended by most members of the Council of Ministers, was held on 3 September 2009 and deliberated on a number of critical issues regarding the food security situation in Southern Sudan.

This study was carried out in 2008, in preparation for the landcover update in Sudan. The report highlights the AFRICOVER and GLOBCOVER datasets over Sudan in addition to the the findings of the landcover change pilot study over Gedarfi State in Eastern Sudan. The report include: 1. Analysis of the availability of Landsat/CBERS, and other satellite imagery coverage for north-Sudan, 2. Index of SPOT (archive) images 5, 10 and 20 m resolution, to obtain and assess the best coverage suitable for land cover mapping and according to the crop calendar; 3. Draft of procurement plan to facilitate Land Cover update activities in Sudan. 4. Test and describe pros and cons of different methods for hot spots change land cover analysis in North Sudan. Methods include Hot Spots, “Wall to wall”, dot grid, and Semi-automatic detection method using Object Based Change Detection - OBCD by FAO-NRCE.

• Widespread and un-seasonal flooding in six of the ten States of Southern Sudan • Temporary drop in cereal prices in Southern Sudan • Relatively good rains were received in most of Southern Sudan

This study, initiated by SIFSIA/FAO – Sudan, evaluates recent changes in the prices of important food commodities in the 15 Northern States of Sudan in terms of magnitudes, impacts, response measures taken so far, and relevant needed future policy and other interventions by various actors to mitigate the negative impacts of food price hikes.

Main issues • Agricultural production showed a modest increase between 2003 and 2007. • After a persistent decline since 2005, prices of cereals have been rising over the past few months. • Prices of cereals were significantly higher than the neighbouring countries (by about 60 % compare with Uganda) over the past few months. • The retail price of wheat in Juba market is 100% higher than the import parity price in May 2008.

The Agrometeorology Update will be produced regularly (monthly) to report on the progress of the agricultural season. The Update looks at the rainfall performance and its impact on crop and livestock production including rangeland.

Southern Sudan has a land mass of about 647,095 Sq Kms (64,709,500 hectares) with a population estimated at about 8.3 million people (Census 2008) 􀀹 Current agricultural land utilization is only 4% (2,588,380 hectares) and In 2009, 1 625 389 hectares were cultivated.........................

Southern Sudan is constantly inundated with several natural and manmade shocks and hazards. As communities in southern Sudan are trying to extricate themselves from hunger and improve on their livelihoods, hazards such as drought and floods have hindered the progress towards self-reliance. Excessive rainfalls and poor drainage that has occurred in this agricultural season have resulted in flooding problems in areas such Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Jonglei and Unity states among others, causing displacements and loss of livelihood assets (Figure 1). Cultivated fields in the low lying areas are flooded and became water-logged. It is expected that flooding and water-logging of fields will result in reduction of production, though crops are already at flowering and maturity stages. Livestock are performing well because of abundance of pasture and water with limited diseases reported.....................................

Food insecurity situation in the White Nile State is addressed via outcomes of a household survey conducted in the State in 2010 supported by available secondary information to understand underlying causes and glean policies that might reduce food insecurity. Food insecurity measures of incidence, depth, and severity are analyzed along with interconnected economic and social variables. Information at the state level reveals variable per capita cereal production dominated by sorghum, substantial contribution of livestock and unstable food availability. Volatile and declining productivity and frequent crop failures are sources of risks with a series of consequences on food security; calling for appropriate actions at household and State level to address overall cereals supply.