USAID Office of Food for Peace Southern Sudan Bellmon estimation

It is based on a desktop study and field work conducted during April through June 2009. It is not intended to reassess levels of food production, nor does it shed new light on national levels of food security. This report draws heavily upon the latest work by the Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) and Annual Needs and Livelihoods Assessment (ANLA) teams. It does not seek to repeat the study conducted by (Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance) FANTA in determining the most appropriate states and priority objectives for multi-year assistance program (MYAP) food aid-based assistance. Rather it assesses the potential impact of food aid-based assistance from a Bellmon perspective, i.e. considering the potential disincentive effects on domestic production and markets, along with ensuring adequate storage facilities for Title II commodities. The report consists of an overview of the political, economic, agricultural and social situations in Southern Sudan, all of which impact substantially upon both food production and marketing, and the process of food aid distribution. There is also an assessment of the nature of food security in the country, including brief analyses of those factors that appear to most affect food security. The current food security situation is then considered, followed by a description of current food aid distribution initiatives, their constraints and impacts, and an assessment of the current state of the market for food commodities. In light of the above assessments, the potential impacts of future MYAPs are considered, and the conditions under which such initiatives might be most successful from a Bellmon perspective are discussed. (Author abstract)