By Yang Ater
The Lakes State government has mobilised humanitarian partners and UN agencies to assess the impact of a prolonged dry spell that has severely affected agricultural production and raised fears of worsening food insecurity across the state.
The decision was reached during a coordination meeting chaired by Deputy Governor Isaac Luka Munga, who called on humanitarian organisations, the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), and government institutions to work together to establish the scale of the crisis.
Munga said the government had become increasingly concerned about the effects of the prolonged lack of rainfall on communities and crops.
“First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to appreciate the chairperson of the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, who extended the call to all the partners to turn up this morning for this very important meeting,” Munga said.
He said technical teams would be deployed to the affected areas to collect information that would guide the humanitarian response.
“We need to take the step so that the partners and SSRRC will send the technical teams on the ground to assess and see the damage in the affected areas so that we can see how the NGOs and humanitarian partners will intervene,” he said.
The assessment will cover all eight counties of Lakes State: Awerial, Yirol East, Yirol West, Rumbek North, Rumbek East, Cueibet, Wulu, and Rumbek Central.
According to officials, the assessment will focus on crop losses, affected households, and vulnerable groups, including returnees, refugees, and internally displaced people.
Andrew Marial, representing Across Peace Economic, said reports presented during the meeting indicated that farmers in several counties had either failed to cultivate their land or had harvested little or nothing because of inadequate rainfall.
“In many counties, it has been reported that farmers were affected by the lack of rain. In most places, farmers did not manage to farm, and even some who tried to farm failed to harvest anything,” Marial said.
He warned that continued crop failure could have serious consequences for food security in the coming months.
“We are expecting that in the next few months there will be no food. Most of the counties have already reported that nothing is being produced now,” he said.
Marial said an early assessment would allow the government and humanitarian organisations to prepare a response and provide accurate information to donors and their headquarters.
The head of SSRRC in Lakes State, Mabor Paul Kordit, said the meeting was aimed at strengthening coordination among government institutions, NGOs, and UN agencies to respond to the emerging food crisis.
He said the meeting had agreed on several measures, including an emergency hunger alert and a state-wide assessment of the affected areas.
Kordit said county representatives had presented reports highlighting the effects of the dry spell on communities across Lakes State.
He said a planning meeting would be held on Friday to determine logistics and organise the deployment of assessment teams.
Deputy Governor Munga also appealed to communities to maintain peace, reconciliation, and stability as households face increasing pressure from food shortages.
“Our community is suffering, but please let us maintain peace among ourselves. Peace is very important. We need stability, reconciliation, and forgiveness,” he said.
The planned assessment is expected to provide the government and humanitarian partners with evidence needed to determine the scale of assistance required and prepare for potential food shortages in the coming months.