By Francois Giudice, Correspondent France
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a €500,000(US$593,682.50) contribution from France to boost the resilience of chronically food-insecure families in Sudan.
The funding will help more than 41,000 people in South Kordofan by reducing post-harvest losses through training smallholder farmers and supporting social protection programmes.
“Building resilience in Sudan is a long-term process that requires the sustained commitment of all actors,” said WFP Sudan Representative and Country Director, Dr. Hameed Nuru. “The support from the Government of France will enable WFP to transform the lives of tens of thousands of food-insecure people to become resilient communities.”
“The funding comes at a critical time when we need to invest in durable solutions to reduce food insecurity in Sudan,” he added.
Sudan’s inflation rate is the highest it has been in 25 years and the price of the local food basket is 210 percent higher than one year ago. Economic instability and hikes in food prices threaten to increase food insecurity which is already at an all-time high with 9.6 million people estimated to be food insecure during the lean season.
This contribution from France enables WFP to help reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen productive safety nets and ultimately address the root causes of food insecurity in Sudan.
“Just a year ago, I personally saw the benefits of using hermetic bags to reduce post-harvest losses. It was near Kosti in White Nile State, where France financed the first programme of this kind with WFP,” said French Ambassador Emmanuelle Blatmann.
“The village women in particular expressed their satisfaction to me. It is a great pride for my country and I to contribute to such innovative operations. Between 2019 and 2020, France’s programmed food assistance allocated nearly €1.3 million to WFP. This strategic partnership has made it possible to support nearly 386,000 people in Sudan,” she said.
Post-harvest losses significantly impact the food security of smallholder farmers in Sudan, who lose up to a third of crops they produce because of improper drying and poor storage practices. WFP promotes the use of hermetic storage techniques that help farmers retain a greater percentage of their crop yields.
Productive safety nets create income opportunities for families during the lean season, while supporting communities constructing critical infrastructure such as water sources, schools and health centres.
WFP post-harvest losses and productive safety net activities increase people’s resilience to shocks, a key element to paving the path for longer term stability and prosperity in Sudan.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
