Household food security in Central Equatoria

By Jacob K. Lupai

July 21, 2010 — At the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996 Heads of State and Government declared that, food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The declaration seems to suggest that the Heads of State and Government had in mind a multi-sectoral approach in achieving food security and indeed a multi-sectoral approach is essential in addressing the causes of household food insecurity. A multi-sectoral approach in this context can be defined as the coordination of activities of agencies with food security focus, policies and strategic plans. Adoption of a multi-sectoral approach implies the coordination of activities of agencies to avoid duplication of efforts for efficient and effective use of meager resources and delivery of services. This means the promotion of teamwork among the many actors in the field of food security.

In Central Equatoria State the Government is keen on agricultural development to achieve household food security. This is made clear in the Interim Constitution of Central Equatoria State (2008) Article 154 (2) which in part reads, “The economic development in the State shall be based on the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors, —–.” Also in the inaugural speech of the Governor on 28 May 2010 it was very clear that food security was of high priority. The Governor said, “I will ensure that our people take farming seriously for self-sufficiency in food, and production of surplus for the market. We are capable of producing food crops such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds and root crops which grow all over the State. We are blessed with large number of cattle, sheep and goats for meat and milk production. We can be self-sufficient in food and produce excess for the local and regional market”.

The Governor continued, “I wish to call upon all our people to return to the land and cultivate to improve their livelihood. We will work together to promote improvement of our livestock for meat and milk production. I want to see us buying fish from our own sources because we have six oxbow lakes in Terekeka County and the River Nile that are important sources of fish, and fisheries industry will have to be improved. I am committed and will continue to attract investors in the field of agriculture, to enhance food security and employment for our youth in food production, processing and the agriculture business component”. The Governor has clearly set the ball rolling and it is now the turn of technocrats to face the challenge by developing a strategic plan of action.

In his inaugural speech the Governor had shown he has the concept of multi-sectoral approach where a number of stakeholders are involved in achieving household food security in Central Equatoria State. The State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and that of animal resources and fisheries shoulder the major responsibility for the achievement of food security. There are also other line ministries with policies on food security. For example, the State Ministry of Health may have a policy on nutrition for public health and similarly the State Ministry of Gender may have a policy on women as contributors to food security. The State Ministry of Physical Infrastructure has an indirect focus on food security. Here policies are on road infrastructure to enable the movement of commodities to ensure food security in the various areas.

In the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) policy framework 2010, of the five priority areas food security is one. This is yet evidence of the priority accorded food security. The SPLM believes that development of the agriculture sector, on which the majority of people of Southern Sudan depend, represents the most important source of wealth that is essential for the achievement of food security. According to the policy framework the SPLM government at all levels must address the problems of hunger and food insecurity as well as must transform the oil dependent subsistence economy into a surplus production economy in order to achieve food self-sufficiency and rapid economic growth. This is yet another demonstration of the central focus on the achievement of household food security in Southern Sudan.

With all the focus on food security the main problem is how will Central Equatoria State in particular and Southern Sudan in general achieve household food security. Poverty is rampant and it is the main cause of household food insecurity. It is possible to define the poverty line as the monetary cost to a given person, at a given place and time, and in Southern Sudan the poverty line is about 2.43SDG a day. It is here that people may understand what poverty is all about. The poor are those people whose consumption standards fall short of the norms or whose incomes lie below the poverty line. Notwithstanding other sources usually a government generates revenue for investment in development through taxes. However, in Southern Sudan people are so poor that to increase taxes to generate revenue for sufficient investment will be like a harsh punishment of the innocent and the government risks being deeply unpopular indeed. Moreover collection of taxes is problematic because accountability may be very poor. Taxes may be collected but priorities in expenditure may be different with the agriculture sector starved of the badly needed resources.

For the achievement of household food security in Central Equatoria State one solution is the attraction of private sector investment in agriculture. This is because the government may lack the needed resources. Land should be easily provided to private entrepreneurs to improve agricultural production. Farmers may also be encouraged to form a cooperative society to enjoy economies of scale in production. The government may need to subsidize farm machinery and inputs, and to assist with marketing of produce. Farmers’ awareness programme should be launched. This is hoped to be helpful in the dissemination of concepts on modern farming methods. This will also expose famers to new ways of thinking in modernization of farming operations to increase production in achieving household food security. Another approach to achieve food security is to avail land to foreign nationals interested in commercial farming. A piece of land can be advertised in the media for interested foreign individuals to invest in commercial farming in Central Equatoria State through the Government of Southern Sudan. Memoranda of understanding and eventual contracts can be signed with committed individuals.

In conclusion Central Equatoria State can be the breadbasket of Southern Sudan. It is in the greenbelt with luxuriant vegetation and virgin soils suitable for all types of farming. Livestock is in abundance and fisheries resources are plentiful. It is mostly investment that is lacking. This can partly be addressed through an aggressive marketing of resources in soliciting funds for development in Central Equatoria State. The concept is shopping for donors wherever they may be. When investors are not interested create the interest and attract them through salesmanship for the achievement of household food security in Central Equatoria State in particular and in Southern Sudan in general.

The author can be reached at [email protected]