EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE SOIL: Understanding wild food consumption during the lean season in South Sudan

Wild plants are a critical part of the regular South Sudanese diet and become even more important during the lean season. This paper explores seasonal consumption patterns and recent significant changes in those patterns in Panyijar County, Unity State during the acute food crisis in 2017. It provides information on local preferences and health perceptions of wild foods, and reconsiders the idea that wild food consumption is primarily a coping strategy.
This report draws on and is accompanied by research conducted in 2015 and presented in the report Indigenous Solutions to Food Insecurity: Wild food plants of South Sudan, by Michael Arensen