UN agencies warn of catastrophic food crisis in South Sudan

The cost of inaction in addressing South Sudan’s complex food, climate, and insecurity crises will be felt in the loss of lives, livelihoods and futures for millions of people across the young nation, the heads of three United Nations agencies warned on Tuesday as they wrapped up a three-day visit to the country.

Qu Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization said "South Sudan is a new country but they needed the humanitarian aid, development hub, and other technology support to transform agrifood systems on the ground." 

Cindy McCain, Executive Director, World Food Programme said “Just handing out food is not the answer. We must break this cycle of hunger and empower communities to plant the seeds of hope, opportunity and economic development.”

Alvaro Lario, President, Int’l Fund for Agricultural Development said “South Sudan has great potential. It has the land, it has the water, a young population. Unfortunately, currently, only 4 per cent of its land is being cultivated. We’re seeing behind us a communal garden where women are improving nutrition planting tomatoes, cassava, and actually we see South Sudan can transform its agriculture from subsistence farming to actually productive small-scale farming.” 

The visit comes after the joint UN report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 found that 122 million more people are suffering chronic malnourishment since 2019.