Isaac Woja

Responses to Food Insecurity: a Study on the Utilization of the Local Natural Resources in Aweil West / North, South Sudan Isaac Woja

This study was carried out in Aweil West/North Counties of North Bahr el Ghazal State in South Sudan. It sought to establish the main local natural resource endowments, their utilization particularly in response to food insecurity, constraining factors and impacts on sustainability. The protracted conflict in South Sudan resulted in the loss of household assets and displacements, and subsequent widespread incidences of food insecurity. Results showed that loss of key livelihood capitals forced households to develop and adopt copping strategies by diversifying their livelihoods onto the local natural resource endowments. Many constraints were encountered, some of which are potential challenges on the sustainability of these resources. Intervention support from international agencies enhanced the process of livelihoods transitions. From this study; livestock, land,rivers and forest are the main local natural resource endowments for this community; livestock being the major one. Loss of livestock resulted in livelihood diversification in which crop production emerged as the leading livelihood, but constraining factors limited households from deriving maximum benefits.