Khartoum, Sudan (July 9, 2012) – NEF will improve food security and livelihoods for 10,500 war-affected households in South Kordofan through an “emergency farming relief” initiative funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
NEF will provide direct assistance to farmers to help them increase production in the upcoming growing season. This includes distributing seed and equipment and training farmers in more efficient and sustainable production techniques.
Internally displaced people, returning refugees, and vulnerable residents will receive support in 53 villages in the Lagawa, Kailak, Elsunut, and Elmuglad municipalities.
FAO will provide in-kind agricultural inputs in the form of sorghum, maize, cowpea, and sesame crop seeds – all of them important staple crops in the region.
To participate in the project, each household must commit to provide seed support to at least one other impoverished family in the next agricultural season.
Situated along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, South Kordofan is a critical producer of crops and livestock in the region. It has been devastated by years of ongoing civil war. Farmers have been displaced by recent resurgence of armed conflict, losing their source of income and their farm equipment, which has either been looted or destroyed. As a result of shortages, people have relied on humanitarian assistance and have been unable to cultivate their own land.
NEF will provide participating farmers in South Kordofan with basic farm implements and supplies such as improved seed and fertilizer so that they can return to their fields, prepare for a successful harvest in the next growing season, and begin rebuilding food security in the region.
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The Near East Foundation is a U.S.-based international development NGO leading innovative social and economic change in the Middle East and Africa for almost 100 years. Founded in 1915, NEF helps build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities through education, governance, and economic development initiatives. NEF field staff – all of them from the countries in which they work – partner with local organizations to implement grassroots solutions and to empower citizens through “knowledge, voice, and enterprise.” To learn more visit www.neareast.org.
Achieving food security for all is at the heart of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO’s mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. To learn more visit www.fao.org.
