Increased food security and income among vulnerable farmers in Mvolo county, South Sudan

This project will support a transition from subsistence farming and aid dependency to sustainable livelihoods and development by building the capacity of 2000 farmers in 66 villages in Mvolo County, South Sudan. The project will promote peaceful coexistence among community stakeholders, including those from Jur and Dinka ethnic groups, as well as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Over the 36 month period, the project will increase food security in Mvolo, evidenced by an increase in crop production and income levels, improved access to finance through VSLAs, as well as a greater sense of security & cohesion at the community-level. A sub-project has been funded by DFID in response to the outbreak of Covid-19. The project will deliver interim food relief to 1,500 marginalised and vulnerable households. The objective is the provision of emergency relief until restrictions on migrant workers are relieved, market prices decrease, and households can harvest again. The grant holder has designed a food package using Sphere standards, which will provide rations for a household of 6-9 people for up to eight weeks. As current relief agencies are struggling to bring WASH interventions to rural communities quickly, soap will also be provided for households. The project will provide short-term duration crop seeds, as well as socially distanced agricultural training on how to grow, care for and harvest them. These seeds will provide households with access to nutritious food relatively quickly. Literacy-sensitive learning cards will be developed for short-term duration crops, meaning households with low literacy levels can grow their crops without the need of a Field Officer. Simple foot-pedal water pumps will be supplied to clusters of households with particularly poor water access. Families will be selected based on a rapid needs assessment and in collaboration with traditional leaders, local government, and other agencies. Emergency food relief will be distributed at an accessible point, adhering to social distancing requirements. Alongside these physical interventions, the grant holder will conduct house-to-house awareness raising activities to ensure beneficiaries are prepared and mobilised in way of signs and symptoms, transmission prevention and healthcare provision.