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Iran's war: A new threat to agricultural crops in Sudan
Sudan is most vulnerable to the repercussions of the war due to its reliance on Gulf states to meet its fertilizer needs.
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Sudanese farmers confirmed that the rise Fuel costs The fertilizer shortages resulting from the Iranian conflict will force them to reduce farming this summer, limiting food production in a country where war has caused severe famine.
Eight farmers from different regions of Sudan, along with experts working in the sector, told Reuters that rising fuel and fertilizer prices will exacerbate the problems caused by the civil war, affecting key local crops such as sorghum, as well as exports such as sesame.
Sudan is vulnerable to the repercussions of the Iranian crisis.
Sudan is particularly vulnerable to the fallout from the Iranian crisis, as it relies on Gulf states to meet more than half of its fertilizer needs, according to UN data, while the war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces has made it entirely dependent on fuel imports.
The country is already facing an impending global food crisis as aid budgets shrink, with some 19.5 million people, or more than 40% of the population, suffering from serious levels of hunger, with some areas at risk of famine, according to a report by a UN-backed watchdog.
Sudan’s agricultural potential has attracted the attention of Gulf investors, but the sector has suffered from decades of stagnation due to mismanagement and wars, at a time when about two-thirds of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
Production may decrease by 40%
Sadiq Al-Amin, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s chief food security analyst, told Reuters that the regional war “made matters worse,” and warned that overall production could fall by “at least 40%.”.
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs said this month that the ongoing shock could exacerbate hunger “to a far greater extent than the current food crisis.”.
After more than three years of war in Sudan, the army now controls the central and eastern regions, while the Rapid Support Forces have strengthened their control over Darfur in the west. The two sides are vying for control of the Kordofan region, which lies between them and is vital for agriculture.
For farmers in the Jamawiya project south of Omdurman, this planting season was supposed to be promising, after the Rapid Support Forces, who were blamed for damaging irrigation canals and water pumps, were driven out of the area adjacent to the capital Khartoum a year ago. But now, farmers are facing a 67% year-on-year increase in fertilizer prices, and fuel prices – including diesel used in irrigation pumps – have more than doubled, according to national surveys.
One farmer said that this cost does not generate profit, but rather consumes all the profits on diesel.
Meanwhile, Omar Al-Obeid, secretary of the farmers' committee in the project, said that only 500 acres out of 10,000 acres had been planted by the middle of the planting season.
The farmers complain that the government, whose budget has been cut in favor of the war effort, has not helped them.
“The Rapid Support Forces left in February of last year. Nothing has been fixed since then,” said Mohamed Bala, head of a group of farmers in the Gezira Scheme, which produced about half of the country’s sorghum and wheat crop before the war.
“The Rapid Support Forces left in February of last year. Nothing has been fixed since then,” said Mohamed Bala, head of a group of farmers in the Gezira Scheme, which produced about half of the country’s sorghum and wheat crop before the war.
In Kordofan and Darfur, the continued state of lawlessness threatens the production of sesame, peanuts, gum arabic and millet.
