Armed conflicts often result in cropland abandonment with significant impacts on food security. Moreover, conflicts restrict the collection of on-the-ground information required for organizing targeted relief distribution. Satellite remote sensing provides a way of observationally gathering information about disruptions during armed conflicts and food-security status in conflict zones.Using ~7500 multisource satellite images, we implemented a data-driven approach that showed a reduction in cultivated croplands in war-ravaged South Sudan by 23% from 2016 to 2018.Propensity score matching revealed a close relationship between cropland abandonment and armed conflicts that lead to drastic decreases in the available food supply. If war-induced abandonment had not occurred, our analysis shows that the abandoned croplands could have supported at least a quarter of the population in the southern states of South Sudan. Here, we demonstrate that remote-sensing technology can play a crucial role in rapid assessments of cropland abandonment in food-insecure regions, thus improving the basis for timely aid provision.

Armed conflicts often result in cropland abandonment with significant impacts on food security. Moreover, conflicts restrict the collection of on-the-ground information required for organizing targeted relief distribution. Satellite remote sensing provides a way of observationally gathering information about disruptions during armed conflicts and food-security status in conflict zones. Using ~7500 multisource satellite images, we implemented a data-driven approach that showed a reduction in cultivated croplands in war-ravaged South Sudan by 23% from 2016 to 2018. Propensity score matching revealed a close relationship between cropland abandonment and armed conflicts that lead to drastic decreases in the available food supply. If war-induced abandonment had not occurred, our analysis shows that the abandoned croplands could have supported at least a quarter of the population in the southern states of South Sudan. Here, we demonstrate that remote-sensing technology can play a crucial role in rapid assessments of cropland abandonment in food-insecure regions, thus improving the basis for timely aid provision.

In the version of this article initially published, there was an error in Table 1. In the third column, the relative % decline of cropland in the 5-km sample group should read "-22.9%", correcting the earlier "-17.0%. " The error was in the presentation of the table and does not affect the results or conclusions in the paper.