Agriculture

Fifty years ago, most households in South Sudan produced the grain they ate, organizing agricultural labour and distributing small surpluses mostly through kinship and other social networks. Now, the majority of households buy most of their food. This transition from self-sufficiency to market dependence took place during long wars, which transformed or distorted almost every aspect of everyday life. It is a transition that now seems to be irreversible. This report therefore looks at how South Sudan’s subsistence system, which organized the production and distribution of wealth around kinship and social networks, is being replaced by a market economy, and what the consequences of this are for the country and its people.

In this article the author examines the relevance of infant-industry promotion theory to South Sudan’s economic revitalization efforts. As a newly formed state with jurisdiction over people with varied and often conflicting interests, the South Sudanese government will likely experience difficulty developing institutions and procedures that produce an equitable distribution of economic gains across the South Sudanese population. After a brief introduction, Zambakari discusses the role of the state in economic development dating back to the renaissance. He discusses the state and economic development in South Sudan and argues that recent declines in South Sudan’s performance on key human development indicators heighten the urgency of evaluating different strategic options for rebuilding an economy ravaged by civil war. This process will necessarily require careful consideration of the optimal degree of state involvement in designing and implementing these solutions. Infant-industry promotion is one promising approach to leveling the playing field between developing and developed country economies. Lastly, Zambakari presents the case for infant-industry promotion and call for the government to serve an active role in economic development and promotion, an alternative model for development in South Sudan by applying selective economic policies to industries where productive capacities can be developed.

An analysis of acute food insecurity and agri‑food systems during COVID‑19 pandemic - Technical note.

The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020 (SOCO 2020) aims to discuss policies and mechanisms that promote sustainable outcomes – economic, social and environmental – in agricultural and food markets, both global and domestic. The analysis is organized along the trends and challenges that lie at the heart of global discussions on trade and development. These include the evolution of trade and markets; the emergence of global value chains in food and agriculture; the extent to which smallholder farmers in developing countries participate in value chains and markets; and the transformative impacts of digital technology on markets.

Along these themes, SOCO 2020 discusses policies and institutions that can promote inclusive economic growth and also harness markets to contribute towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

Cattle raiding, a longstanding practice among pastoralists in South Sudan, was historically governed by cultural authorities and ritual prohibitions. However, after decades of on-and-off integration into armed forces, raiders are now heavily armed, and military-style attacks claim dozens if not hundreds of lives at a time.

Farmer participation in agricultural markets is of major importance for rural economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. This paper discusses market failures and constraints in agriculture in low income countries, focusing on how these failures and constraints affect
small farmers, input sellers and output buyers. It then explores innovative models implemented to address these challenges, including: out-grower schemes; input bundling programmes; decommodification through quality product differentiation; information and communication technologies; distributed ledger technologies; and direct purchasing models. Finally, the paper reviews the existing evidence surrounding these innovative approaches and highlights evidentiary gaps.

During times of severe food shortages, alternative sources of food are the only means of survival. When crops fail or are destroyed, markets, houses, livestock and food stores are demolished or stolen, and movement is limited due to conflict, local populations have only two sources of food left; aid and what is locally available in the surrounding environment. The utilization of wild plants, fish and game becomes a primary coping mechanism for people affected by conflict. While the killing of wild game is illegal, and fishing is supported with distributions of tools, knowledge on the role of indigenous wild plants in diets is not well understood. Although vital during times of food shortage, wild plants are also a normal part of diets in South Sudan. Research has found that wild plants are “the nutritional equivalent of- and in some cases are superior to- introduced vegetables and fruits” and their use both diversifies and improves diets.1 Some wild plants are particularly nutritious and could potentially play a significant role in creating a sustainable source of much needed nutrients in South Sudan.

Further some wild plants also hold economic value and are already traded in local, and even international markets. The domestication or sustainable collection of wild plants with agricultural or economic potential could create alternative sources of both income and food. Distribution of food aid is costly, unsustainable and not always a possibility. The potential for developing or promoting a local, sustainable food source should not be ignored. Utilizing and sharing indigenous knowledge on wild plants, including which ones are edible, how to prepare them and which have economic value, could play an important role in supporting communities. The expansion of the use of wild plants is not an immediate solution to the dire food situation currently found in South Sudan, and should not be promoted as such. However, the humanitarian community should not ignore any potential local solutions that exist. The correct utilization of indigenous wild food plants could play a significant role in improving the lives of people suffering due to conflict and food insecurity.

International prices of maize surged in January amid shrinking global export supplies and large purchases by China (mainland). Prices of wheat and barley also increased significantly, supported by strong import demand. Export prices of rice increased for a second successive month reflecting robust demand from Asian and African buyers, combined with tight supplies in Thailand and Viet Nam, two major exporting countries.
In East Africa, prices of coarse grains generally followed mixed trends in January. In most countries, prices were around or below their year-earlier levels, except in the Sudan and South Sudan, where despite some seasonal declines, they were still at near-record highs, underpinned by insufficient supplies and severe macro-economic difficulties, including continuous and sustained depreciation of the local currencies.
In Central America, despite the ongoing second season harvest, prices of beans increased further in January and were well above their year-earlier levels, especially in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, reflecting crop losses caused by the two consecutive hurricanes in November 2020.

Over the past four decades, most South Sudanese people have begun buying staple foods rather than eating self-grown grains and tubers. This is part of a wider move towards markets, closely connected to South Sudan’s first encounters with modernity in the nineteenth century, as well as the conflicts and mass displacements of the past fifty years.

This move has deeply affected food systems, diminishing the availability of indigenous grains and impoverishing many people’s diets. South Sudanese farmers are growing cereals and tubers commercially, while traders are importing grain across its borders from neighbouring countries, deepening South Sudan’s integration into a regional grain economy. These imported staples are diversifying South Sudanese diets, as well as changing consumption habits and food preparation methods.

This report examines how South Sudanese tastes and imports are changing from the perspective of consumers and traders living in the capital, Juba. Going beyond issues of food security and crises, it scrutinizes the religious and cultural significance of food, as well as how shifting tastes and imports can provide clear, unspectacular explanations for everyday suffering and violence

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