Tearfund Canada, Tearfund South Sudan and Christian Initiative for Restoration and Development Agency (CIRDA) are partnering on an agriculture and livelihood project in Aweil East County, Northern Bahr El Ghazal, South Sudan.
Aweil East County is a primarily rural area with under-utilized agricultural potential. The area has been affected by both acute and chronic food insecurity due to drought and flooding, lack of seeds, inadequate knowledge on improved farming methods, post-harvest losses, lack of capital for both small-scale farming and micro finances, inflation, gender disparities in access to socio-economic resources, sexual and gender-based violence. Although Tearfund and other groups have been providing humanitarian assistance for years, it is insufficient to meet the needs of the population and especially vulnerable groups.
The project plans to enhance food security and build the resilience by working with 1,000 participants in 1,000 households (8,000 people reached) providing agronomic training, seeds, and tools to improve agricultural productivity; supporting the establishment of kitchen gardens to diversify diets and generate income; promoting agro-based livelihoods through the production of poultry and other assets for vulnerable families; and establishing at least 50 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), with training in savings and loan principles.