Sudan’s wheat harvest is in jeopardy after the country’s cash-strapped administration failed to follow through on commitments to buy it at low prices.
Modawi Ahmed, a farmer in Sudan’s largest agricultural scheme, Al-Gezira, is one of hundreds who have planted the grain.
“The agricultural bank wants us to repay our loans in wheat, based on a favorable price of 43,000 dollars (Sudanese pound, almost 88 euros, ed.). One (a farmer, for example) must register the quantity they will furnish with the bank, and the bank will determine the quantity required. After calculating the loans, the bank will calculate how much each farmer should supply over a set length of time, in bags or kilos. According to what we heard, if there is an excess, they will put it on the shelf “, Ahmed stated.
According to the UN, nearly half of Sudan’s population, or 18 million people, will be facing extreme hunger by September.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which is a vital grain supply, threatens to exacerbate Sudan’s food security problems.
“The unfavorable implications will manifest themselves in the near future. Fertilisers and pesticides will be avoided, or they will be unavailable to prepare or purchase. Due to the depreciation of the Sudanese pound and the fact that farmers are short on cash, there will be a problem “, said Abdellatif Albouni, an agricultural researcher and farmer.
According to a United Nations assessment from 2021, wheat from Russia and Ukraine accounts for 70 to 80 percent of Sudan’s local market requirements.
After the agricultural bank refused to receive their harvest, dozens of wheat farmers from Sudan’s Northern State staged a protest outside the bank last month.
“Given all of these complexities, if the Sudanese government does not grasp the implications of these issues, there will be significant problems for the economy and agricultural sector, as farmers may refuse to cultivate wheat in the coming season, further complicating the situation,” said economist Mohamed al-Nayer.
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, local wheat output will only fulfill a fourth of the country’s demands this year (FAO).
