5.1

5.1

Seed and Tool Provision Response for Food Self-Sufficiency

SEADS Handbook Location: Chapter 5 (book p. 53, PDF p. 60)

This project was a one-year response in 2016–17 to meet the immediate emergency needs of the conflict-affected population in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Samaritan’s Purse (SP) implemented the humanitarian response in five targeted areas in North Kivu and Irumu territory, Ituri.

The program supported 39,271 project participants (19,894 males and 19,377 females) from 5,049 households (HHs), providing each with farming seeds ($20), tools ($13), and essential agricultural information adapted to their local farming contexts. Beneficiaries were supported with the inputs for one farming season.

Based on the evaluation reports, only 1% of the beneficiaries at endline reported poor food consumption scores, compared to 99% reporting poor scores at baseline. The HHs also reported an average of 2.1 extra months of food self-sufficiency as a result of their active participation in the program.

Considering the sustained positive impact that the HHs will receive as a result of the continued use of the seeds and tools, SP can report that the program has not only cushioned the HHs from a livelihood drop but has also effectively and efficiently supported their access to food through their own production, thereby lowering the burden of the impact of conflict on the participating HHs.