Govt, UN agencies call for intensive investments in Sudan’s agriculture sector
June 1, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan and United Nations agencies Tuesday called for greater agriculture investments in Sudan to end the raising food insecurity across the country.
Agriculture which is the most important economic sector in Sudan employs 43% of the labour force in the country and accounts for about 30 % of Gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank
Also, Sudan is one of the largest livestock producing countries in Africa, where the livestock sector contributes to the livelihoods of at least 26 million people.
Studies by the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) show that about 9.8 million people are projected to be acutely food insecure across the country throughout the lean season from June through September.
In a joint statement with the FAO and WFP, Eltahir Harbi, Minister of Agriculture and Forests called for “intensive investments in agriculture by the support of the government, active organizations, mainly FAO and WFP and other partners”.
Harbi added that his government strives to combat poverty and avail food for the nation and to ensure food security in the region.
According to the findings of a recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released on Tuesday, Sudanese are likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity in different regions.
The latest IPC “results for Sudan say 9.8 million people are projected to be acutely food insecure (IPC Phase 3 and above) across the country throughout the lean season from June through September”.
More than 20 per cent of Sudan’s population is projected to be facing acute food insecurity starting this month, further said the statement referring to the report.
The key drivers of food insecurity in Sudan include floods, recurrent droughts, economic decline, inflation and displacement because of conflict.
The classification report says that major acute food insecurity exists in 10 out of the 18 states in terms of caseload and proportion of food insecure populations compared to only two states in the penultimate IPC analysis from June to August 2019.
The statement underscored that high levels of food insecurity underline the need for investments in Sudan’s agricultural sector.
(ST)