Armed conflict leads Sudan into a food crisis

The armed conflict in Sudan has caused severe damage to the country's agricultural production, significantly reducing grain output, and resulting in the country facing the most severe famine in its history. Agriculture is one of Sudan's most important industries, with nearly 65% of the country's population engaged in agricultural production. However, more than a year of war has severely damaged Sudan's agricultural infrastructure, disrupted food trade and agricultural product supply chains, and caused prices of agricultural machinery, fertilizers, seeds, etc. to soar, resulting in insufficient investment in agricultural production and ultimately a significant reduction in agricultural product output.

Entering 2024, as the war further spread to the main grain-producing areas in central and southeastern Sudan, the cultivated land area in Sudan further decreased. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification of the United Nations, nearly 18 million people in Sudan are currently in a state of severe food insecurity, of which approximately 5 million people are in a more severe food emergency situation, just one step away from famine. Local resident Mohamed Alfatah said that due to the war, the economy has slumped significantly, and almost all materials are in very short supply, especially food has become a scarce commodity.

Yang Hongjie, the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Sudan, said on April 15, 2024, that affected by the conflict, the national grain output in Sudan in 2023 was estimated at 4.116 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 46%, and about 40% lower than the average output of the previous five years. The grain output in Gezira State, known as the "granary" of the country, has greatly decreased, while West Darfur State has almost no harvest. Khartoum State, the Darfur region and the Kordofan region are the areas with the most severe food insecurity in the country.

The continuous war has caused a severe humanitarian disaster in Sudan, among which the food crisis is particularly severe. Maurizio Martina, deputy director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said on March 20, 2024 that to eliminate the risk of famine, the top priority is to reach a peaceful political solution through negotiations and immediately stop hostilities to pave the way for emergency humanitarian assistance.