Enhancing resilience and food security through provision of agricultural inputs and fishing kits to vulnerable people in Cueibet County, Lakes State. The proposed project intends to upscale its existing projects activities in Cueibet county, Lakes State with an objective to contribute to protecting vulnerable populations affected by the crisis against hunger, malnutrition and destitution. The project will aim to build household’s coping capacities amoungst the targeted community. From January to December 2018, the food security situation in Cueibet County was categorized at crisis level as per the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), signifying an acute malnutrition rate of 10% to 15% and stressed food access that requires negative coping mechanisms for survival. By May 2019, the situation had further deteriorated with the county entering IPC level 4-emergency phase. The high levels of acute food insecurity continue to be driven by the cumulative effects of the localized conflicts, associated population displacements, macro-economic crisis and prolonged years of asset depletion. These contribute to insufficient crop production, with only 52% of the 2019 national cereal needs being met by harvests. Furthermore, the on-going economic crisis has significantly reduced households’ purchasing power of vulnerable populations who are reliant on market purchases of highly priced foods .
The project aims to support these households to begin to restore lost agriculture or fishing livelihoods, thereby enabling them to have increased food availability through personal production, as well as a small income for increased food access. The project targets to support 5000HHs of Cueibet County (2000 M, 3000F) in Lakes State through direct vegetable seed and fishing kit distributions as well as strengthening capacities in vegetable and fish production. Of these, 2500HHs (1250 Males, 750Females, 250Boys,250Girls) from the payams bordering Tonj (Maluopec, Ngap and Duony Payams) will be supported with fishing kits which avail immediate benefits by providing white meat for the HHs(fish) consumption as well as providing an alternative source of income through the sale of surplus fish. This income will be used to supplement the HHs food requirements as well as address urgent HHs needs. To ensure maximum realization of benefits as well as ensure sustainability, HHs will be trained on improved fish production practices such as catch hygiene, fish post-harvest and preservation as well as fish utilization and nutrition training. Households near water bodies/points will be supported with vegetable kits to address their nutritional requirement in the short-term (early 4-weeks). Income from the sale of surplus produce will be used to purchase alternative food requirements such as Dura (sorghum) as well as supplement the HH dietary needs. Farmers will receive basic training on improved agronomic practices with regards to dry season micro-irrigation of small-scale commercial vegetable production, as well as training on vegetable utilization and nutrition. These trainings will be primarily targeted towards pregnant and breastfeeding women who remain at high risk of malnutrition under stressed conditions. As a protection measure to minimize distance to watering points, women will also be supported in the construction of small hand dug wells around their vegetable demonstration plots.