Despite "appalling conditions" in South Sudan, it is not too late to save more people from dying, the head of the UN agriculture agency said yesterday, joining the World Food Programme (WFP) chief in a call to all warring parties in the country to end the violence and work together to ensure access to food and other life-saving support.

José Graziano da Silva, head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and WFP's David Beasley made the appeal during a visit to former Unity state.

"We can still avoid a worsening of the disaster, but the fighting has to stop now," Graziano da Silva said. "There can be no progress without peace. People must be given immediate access to food, and farmers need to be allowed to work on their fields and tend to their livestock," he added.

Around 5.5 million people in South Sudan,almost half the population, face severe hunger ahead of the lean season, which peaks in July. Of these, more than 90,000 face starvation with famine declared in parts of former Unity state while another one million teeter on the brink.

The UN stressed that this unprecedented situation reflects the impact of ongoing strife, obstacles to delivering humanitarian assistance and declining agricultural production.

Both UN officials stressed that an immediate, massive response is critical, combining emergency food assistance and support for agriculture, livestock and fisheries.'The fighting must end' so investment in children can begin, WFP's Beasley.

In the former Unity state, the two UN officials visited people coping with the hunger crisis with the support of both agencies and met with people facing famine on Kok Island, a refuge in the Nile River where many people have sought shelter from fighting.

The two agency heads also saw aid workers from international and local partner organizations distributing WFP food and nutrition treatments, as well as seeds and FAO fishing kits.

"Food, treatment for malnourished kids, kits that help people fish and grow vegetables - these are the difference between life and death for people we met in Unity state," said WFP’s Beasley.

"But we can’t keep scaling up forever. The fighting has to end to make the kind of investments that give the children of South Sudan any hope for the future they deserve,” he added.

Both agency heads underscored the need for further international support to confront a $182 million funding gap over the next six months.

Beasley assured that while WFP would continue to stand by the South Sudanese, its leaders "must show good faith by facilitating humanitarian efforts, including getting rid of unnecessary fees and procedures that delay and hinder aid."