Can microfinance accompanied with food transfers and skill development training generate sustainable livelihood development in a post-conflict situation?

Livelihood development is critical in a post-conflict situation as in Southern Sudan. Returning from camps, a good portion of these internally displaced people are facing a lack of employment opportunities along with acute shortage of basic services. While food transfers are critical at this stage for the returnees, it is important to incorporate promotional components with this support to foster livelihood development. To this end, BRAC Southern Sudan is piloting a Food for Training and Income Generation (FFTIG) program, which combines food transfer with skill development training and financial services. The number of beneficiaries is 500 households and they have been selected based on a listing of extreme poor by the community. All the households were visited by BRAC-South Sudan staffs to collect some basic data of extreme poverty before finally selecting them. A total of 1058 potential beneficiaries were identified. From this list, 500 beneficiaries have been selected randomly for program participation. A baseline household survey was conducted in March before the food transfer started from 25 March, 2008. An endline survey is intended for 2009. Assessment of its success/failure is important not only for BRAC Southern Sudan but also for all the relevant development agencies working for livelihood promotion there. Moreover, this evaluation, by shedding some light on how to move from relief to longer term, sustainable, development will inform policies in other fragile states in Africa and elsewhere.