Agriculture and food security are the most vulnerable and climate-sensitive sectors in South Sudan. The high level of food insecurity in the country is explained by a set of interrelated factors including climate change/variability, climate related disasters, conflict, food prices and market dynamics among others. Variability and extreme climatic events, decades of civil war and conflict, as well as environmental degradation, have contributed to increased vulnerability to food security. Natural and partly man-made disasters such as drought, land degradation, floods are some of the major contributing causes to food insecurity in the country. Conflict, displacement and food insecurity are three of the most pressing problems for South Sudan, which have often sparked international humanitarian aid effort. The linkages between climate on one hand and livelihoods together with specific vulnerabilities on the other have not been quantitatively and qualitatively studied in South Sudan.
Understanding the ways in which climate risks affect vulnerability and livelihoods is a critical step towards identifying the regions and communities that should be prioritized as well as the appropriate mechanisms for intervention. This analysis explores on somekey drivers to food insecurity and ways in which livelihoods are affected by climate related risks. The method used consist of dynamic and descriptive analyses to evaluate the relationship between historic and current climatic variability and food security indicators using various layers. Finally, it uses this information to disaggregate food security and resilience patterns to the most vulnerable populations.