ROME – Cereal production in the Sudan has been severely affected by the conflict, which erupted in April 2023, likely pushing more people into hunger – the situation requires urgent and at-scale agricultural support ahead of the planting season starting in June, Director of the FAO Office of Emergencies and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, warned.
The production of sorghum, millet and wheat in 2023 was estimated at about 4.1 million tonnes, down 46 per cent from the output obtained in the previous year and about 40 percent below the average of the previous five years.
“This is a very practical manifestation of the impact of clashes, conflict and violence on food production. We clearly have a context that requires urgent and appropriate support. This is why FAO’s interventions are so incredibly important at this point in time,” said Paulsen, who is currently on a field mission to the country to evaluate the food security situation on the ground.
FAO’s Emergency Plan in Sudan for 2024 is budgeted at $104 million. The plan is currently less than 10 per cent funded.
“Every time I talk to people who have been displaced, usually they were forced to leave because their livestock died or because their crops were damaged or destroyed. This is why our ability to move quickly to support vulnerable farming households in the Sudan is of the highest importance,” he stressed.
