Sudan: wheat production threatened by conflict and shortages

Sudanese farmers are facing an unprecedented crisis in wheat production, due to electricity shortages and the destruction caused by the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Siddig Ahmed, a farmer in Northern State, explains: ‘We imported seeds and fertilisers privately, but our crops are suffering from thirst because of the power cuts. After losing our faba bean crop, we now fear for the wheat. By 2024, a joint programme between the WFP and the AfDB had led to a 70% increase in wheat production in five Sudanese states. But the war is threatening this progress: agricultural infrastructure has been targeted, irrigation systems have ground to a halt and many farm workers have fled the combat zones.

Sudan is now on the brink of a food catastrophe, with more than five million people facing extreme food insecurity.