Food security is expected to remain stable until February 2008 in most unimodal areas, following above-average harvests of short-cycle (May to July) crops, such as sorghum, maize, groundnuts, and sesame.
The 2007 FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment results indicate 90,000 households and 56,000 hectares of land were affected by floods, though areas most affected - such as the Nile‐Sobat and Eastern Flood Plains livelihoods zones - are expected to be able to compensate for crop losses through flood recession activities such as fishing, agriculture, and harvesting of wild foods. The recession of floods will also allow for abundant water and pasture availability, thereby increasing milk production.
However, parts of the Eastern Flood Plains, including Nyirol, Watt, Diror, Akobo, and Wurar counties, face multiple challenges, their resilience, including a combination of crop losses due to floods, insufficient access to markets, and inter-clan tensions and cattle rustling, making populations in these areas particularly vulnerable to food insecurity.
About 372,000 returnees are expected to return to Southern Sudan in 2008, raising concerns about whether current quantities of food are sufficient to meet their resettlement needs. Most repatriations are anticipated to occur between now and April, before the onset of rains and at a time when carryover harvests are dwindling.
A Venezuelan National guard stands in front of residents waiting in line to buy food at a local market at the San Antonio border with Colombia February 13, 2008. Venezuelan President ...
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