CAIRO: Ongoing conflict in Southern Sudan could cause severe food shortages for up to two million people, according to a United Nations report issued on Wednesday. The number of “food-insecure” people has jumped from 3.3 million in 2011 to 4.7 million in 2012, according the report produced by two Rome-based UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP). About one million people are “severely food-insecure,” in the newly independent eastern African country, compared to 900,000 in 2011, the report noted. “If conflict continues to cause major population displacements and food prices keep rising, the report estimates that the number of people who are severely food-insecure could double,” the FAO and WFP said in a statement. The two UN agencies have appealed for some 183 million dollars in donor funds for Southern Sudan. The report, Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to South Sudan, is based on a joint assessment conducted in the world's newest nation between October and November, at the request of South Sudan's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Poor harvests, increased demand, rapidly rising prices, conflict, displacements and a large number of returnees have all contributed to the situation, with a shortfall in cereal production weighing heavily on already distressed communities, the report found. “This is a rapidly approaching crisis that the world cannot afford to ignore,” said the WFP's country director in South Sudan, Chris Nikoi. South Sudan's national cereal production in 2011 was judged to be about 19 per cent below the previous year and 25 percent lower than the average for the last five years. The cereal deficit for 2012 is estimated at more than 470,000 tons – almost half of the country's total requirement for the year. The resulting limited food supply comes at a time of significantly increased demand, due to the influx of returning South Sudanese from the north and people displaced by conflict. “Under normal circumstances, the combination of insufficient food supply and increased demand would have been addressed by well-functioning markets. However, the closure of border crossings linking the new country of South Sudan to Sudan has led to disruption in the usual supply of food commodities to the markets of South Sudan,” the FAO and WFP said in the statement. In order to reach 2.7 million vulnerable people with food assistance, the WFP – which specializes in emergency food supplies – said it was seeking donor support to cover a shortfall of 160 million dollars. The FAO is seeking donations worth 23 million dollars, to provide agricultural support to revive production capacity for the next cropping season, which starts with the first rains in April and continues across the country until June. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/YzIYl Tags: Hunger, UN Section: Health, Latest News, Sudan
