Effect of Covid-19 on Female-Headed Farming Household Food Security in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State, South Sudan

Abstract

At the beginning of 2020, global food security was interrupted by the unprecedented occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions to contain it. In South Sudan, women were among the most vulnerable groups due to restrictions and standard operating procedures (SoPs). This study was conducted to determine the effect of COVID-19 on the food security of female-headed households from three counties in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, South Sudan. The analysis of the food security status was based on the Consolidated Approach for Reporting Indicators of Food Security (CARI) and food security was viewed in terms of availability of, and accessibility to food among households. Findings revealed that only 15.5% of the female-headed households sampled were food secure while 84.5% of them were food insecure on the 2-level scale. There was a significant reduction in average household income, size of land under agricultural production and crop harvest. Households lost access to produce markets, supermarkets, agro-input markets and produce stores, lowering their food production potential and farm output. Coping strategies included sale of household items, finding other work to supplement their agricultural activities, revision of household food consumption tendencies, new sales channels, while some of the households did nothing. These strategies are indicators of poverty, hunger and food insecurity which can lead to malnutrition. The study concluded that food security among female-headed households is low post-COVID, pushing women into life-threatening coping strategies in South Sudan. Development efforts in the country should be directed towards supporting recovery and resilience systems among these households in the country.