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Climate variability poses an enormous challenge at household level particularly in communities where food and nutrition security depend largely on rain-fed agriculture. Thus climate variability has the potential to escalate food insecurity and exacerbate household malnutrition through its impacts on crop yield, livestock and income. The core purpose of this research was to assess the status of food security and coping mechanisms employed by households in the face of climate variability in Northern Bahr el Ghazal. The research utilized cross sectional research design to collect quantitative and qualitative information. Random and purposive sampling procedures was used to select the research location and household level data was gather from a total of 155 respondents using a both open and close ended questionnaires. Coping strategies index (CSI) and HFIAS were used to determine food availability and accessibility of sample households and coping strategies respectively.
Results from the study indicated that 95% of households’ interview in Aweil West and 92% of households in Aweil East of Northern Bahr el Ghazal states are severely food insecure while in Aweil East and North the occurrence of food security access is moderate. Nearly all households (79%) in Aweil South and 73% in Aweil west surveyed stated that there were months in 2019 without enough food to eat. The majority of households (79 to 73 %) in both the area surveyed reported sometimes or often going to bed hungry in the past six week before to the study. The study also demonstrates that, there is a statistically significant difference between food secure and insecure households in the study area. A combination of coping strategies are employed when households did not have sufficient food, and these including decrease meal size, skipping daily meals, selling off assets and engaging income generating business in order to generate money to buy food and improve their children nutrition diet. The major coping strategies adopted by surveyed household to counterbalance the adversative impacts of climate variability include water and soil conservation measures, water harvesting structure, livestock rearing during drought or dry spell, adjusting planting seasons, diversification of livelihoods among others.
Despite the extremely political instability, financial crisis and food security condition in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, the priorities of the government and the international partners should now focus on ensuring stability and avoiding significant escalation of the impact of climatic shocks on food and nutrition security of the population in the state. Also, there is urgent need for immediate emphasis on food distribution and assistance and long-term climate variability development strategies throughout Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, mostly farming practices such as Climate smart agriculture in addition to livelihoods resilience development intervention. Thus, food security and nutrition interventions need to strengthen livelihoods in traditions that safeguard the normal resilience of community and providing sustainable assistance to ensure that households remain resilient to the fragile and variable food and nutrition situations in which they exist.
Key Words: Household, food and nutrition security, coping strategies, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan
