The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Director of Emergency and Resilience Division Mr Dominique Bourgeon, concluded a 4 day visit to Sudan during which he toured communities affected by the recent floods that destroyed large areas of cultivated land in different areas in the country.

Mr. Bourgeon began his visit, which came upon the invitation of the Sudanese Government, with a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources Abdul Qadir Turkawi, who presented statistics on damages to farmers and cultivated areas. This was followed by a meeting with Minister of Labor and Social Development Lina Al-Sheikh, in which the minister thanked the FAO delegation and praised the organization’s rapid response. She explained that Sudan is experiencing several crises that the flood disaster only made worse.

On the second day of the visit, Mr. Bourgeon, accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources Eng. Abdel Gadir Turkawi, FAO Representative in Sudan Dr Babagana Ahmadu, Senior Field Programe Officer and Delivery Manager for Regional Initiative on Building Resilience Mr Ayman Omar and the Khartoum FAO office staff, traveled to the states of Blue Nile and Sennar to witness the impact of the floods on the agricultural sector. The team visited some of the most affected areas, where they met with small farmers whose lands were destroyed by the floods, particularly women whose livelihood depends on their work in agriculture. The farmers described their situation as bad, saying that the failure of the agricultural season caused them economic hardship as they lost all their savings to the floods, and with them their dreams of living a decent life.

Mr. Bourgeon stressed that FAO will work to address the problems the farmers are facing.

After the 2-day tour, FAO delegation concluded its visit with a meeting with Eng Turkawi during which the minister praised FAO’s efforts and interest in helping the farmers who were affected by the floods. He also thanked Mr. Bourgeon and his delegation for the visit, which he said followed an accurate approach as it involved direct investigation, conversations with farmers, and multiple visits to accurately assess the impact.

For his part, Mr. Bourgeon said FAO is committed to providing great assistance to close the food gap and rehabilitate lands and farmers. He added that FAO surveyed 15 states in Sudan to assess the damage to land, agriculture, and livestock. The delegation identified the needs and arranged priorities as follows:

The action plan was divided into immediate and medium- and long-term phases, and the tasks during each phase were determined as follows:

Tasks in the immediate phase

- provide agricultural seeds, tools and equipment for the upcoming winter season;

- distribute bags for grain storage to limit post-harvest losses;

-  rehabilitate shallow wells;

- restock with goats and poultry;

- provide animal feed, mineral licks, veterinary vaccines and drugs;

- provide fishing gear (boats, nets, ice boxes); and

- provide cash transfers to address immediate food and basic needs.

Tasks in the medium- and long-term phase:

- facilitate access to seeds, tools and equipment for the 2021 agricultural summer season;

- provide technical support for improved cropping practices; • establish seed banks at village level;

- support crop diversification;

-  provide and enhance veterinary services;

-  continue support to feed production through cropping and agroforestry (in synergy with land stabilization);

-  provide technical support for improved breeding practices;

- strengthen institutional capacity for early warning and early action;

- establish processing facilities for agriculture, livestock and fisheries; and improve value chain,  marketing and added value of agricultural produce; and

-  support access to markets and affordable rural financial services

Since July 2020, torrential rains and flooding combined with the historical overflow of the River Nile and its tributaries have affected 17 states out of 18 in the Sudan. Gedarif, Blue Nile, Sennar and Kassala States have been most affected in terms of damage to planted area. In addition to taking place in the middle of the main agricultural season, these floods are the worst seen in decades.

Mr Dominique stated that FAO will support the affected areas in Sudan by immediate 70 million US dollars.