The $612,000 programme, which will be implemented with the support of France and South Sudan’s ministry of agriculture, will target several states for one year, training farmers in the production, storage and marketing of quality seeds and cuttings of staple crops such as maize, cassava, cowpeas and sorghum.

“The importance of seeds to the food security and livelihoods of South Sudan’s farmers and rural communities is very high,” said the head of the Food and Agriculture (FAO) office in Juba, Sue Lautze. “Despite widespread food insecurity, the country is committed to ensuring food security for all, as soon as possible. Seeds are a critical component to realizing this important ambition.”

According to FAO, decades of conflict and displacement have taken their toll on farmers’ access to quality seeds and other planting materials, and eroded their knowledge of seed production techniques, which undermine crop productivity.

Today, more than 90 per cent of South Sudanese farmers still depend on the informal seed system, which is based primarily on saved seeds, social networks, and local markets. Typically, farmers use saved seeds from one season to the next, which lessens the genetic purity of the seed.

The programme will increase the availability and quality of seeds to South Sudan’s most vulnerable farmers in the states of Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria, Lakes, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Northern Bahr el Ghazal. It will also provide assistance to 400 seed producers.

“Through the project, FAO aims to not only reduce the number of households affected by food insecurity through improving the availability and access of locally produced quality seed on the market, but also aims to improve the incomes and capacity of seed producers,” said the Project Officer with FAO South Sudan, Joseph Okidi.

The project will include seed fairs, capacity development for seed enterprises, and training for farmers. It will also increase the amount of land dedicated to quality-seed multiplication, which is currently very limited.

In 2011, FAO and France implemented a similar programme in South Sudan, which led to the production of more than 350 tons of quality seeds and planting materials, and injected some $300,000 into the local economy. With the new programme, the agency is hoping to build on the previous success.

The July 2012 issue of the Rice Market Monitor, released by FAO today, says that production is expected to total 724.5 million tonnes – a 7.8 million tonne downward revision compared to the original forecast in April. But global output should still slightly surpass the results achieved in 2011.

“The downward revision was mainly the result of a 22 per cent lower-than-average monsoon rainfall in India through mid-July, which is likely to reduce output in the country this season,” FAO stated in a news release.

Production forecasts were also reduced for Cambodia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, Nepal and Taiwan, Province of China, all of which may see a production drop in 2012, the agency added.

Also, unlike with maize and wheat, rice prices have remained “surprisingly stable” after gaining two per cent in May. “Amid abundant rice supplies and stocks, the likelihood of a strong price rebound in coming months is minimal, but the future direction of rice prices remains uncertain,” said FAO.

Some countries are expected to see production gains, including China, Indonesia and Thailand, along with several other Asian nations. Production in Africa may increase by as much as three percent, while Australia’s rice harvest was 32 per cent higher than last year.

Prospects are also good for Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela, but poor precipitation and shifts towards more remunerative products in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are behind a seven per cent drop of production in Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole.

FAO expects that Asia – the world’s leading rice producer – will reap 657 million tonnes in 2012, up 0.4 per cent from last year.

“The situation is very serious – our field staff have observed that households in parts of the country have harvested almost nothing,” said WFP Country Director Abdoulaye Diop. “Our first priority will be to make sure that vulnerable people have enough food to sustain themselves through this lean season. At the same time, we must invest in more long-term solutions to build resilience and break the cycle of hunger.”

According to a recent report jointly produced by the Government, UN agencies, and academic and non-governmental organizations, more than 1.6 million people will need food assistance in the coming months, a substantial increase from earlier this year when 202,000 people were in need of food assistance.

While the lean season in Malawi is usually between December and March, a late onset of rain and prolonged dry spells resulted in a decrease of maize production by as much as 40 per cent in some areas. The effects will be felt the most in the southern part of the country.

In addition, the recent devaluation of the national currency by 49 per cent, coupled with soaring inflation at 17.3 per cent, has produced sharp increases in the prices of basic goods and services, pushing the cost of living to unsustainable levels for many Malawians.

Retail maize prices have already increased by 50 per cent compared to the same time last year, and are expected to increase in the lean season.

WFP, along with the Government and other partners, will distribute locally produced maize, pulses and blended food. Cash transfers may also be made available to the most vulnerable to enable them to buy food in areas where market conditions allow.

The agency is urging donors to provide rapid funding support to assist more than one million people starting from August, covering the period until March 2013.

In a news release WFP said its emergency intervention will be implemented in tandem with medium- and longer-term assistance, including school meals, programmes to boost the nutrition of malnourished children and mothers, and resilience-building activities to address chronic food insecurity and disaster risk reduction.