Food Security in Sudan

1. Food Security in Sudan

2. Introduction • Sudan with a total area of 1.882 millions square kilometers • with an estimated population of 33.419 million people • The cultivable area is estimated at more than 80 million hectares, of which only 20% is cultivated • Crop production is practiced under three main farming systems

3. About 90 percent of the cultivated area is rain-fed • 60% of food production comes from the large-scale sector • The agricultural sector also has livestock, fisheries and forestry as key sub-sectors • Sudan has the second largest livestock population in Africa after Ethiopia

4. Agriculture characterised by subsistence farming, shifting cultivation and livestock production • Cereals alone provide nearly 53% of the daily energy supply to the population • production of the staple food crops in 2010 declined considerably by nearly 42% from an average of 4.9 million metric tons in 2006-2009 to only 2.9 million metric tons(CEREAL AVAILABILITY STUDY, 2010) • Reasons provided for the decrease in production, including unfavourable weather and rainfall conditions, management problems related to irrigation water, decrease in fertilizer use, and unavailability of improved seed verities, etc.

5. Table 1: Sorghum Production Trend in Sudan (2006-2010) (Source: Sudan MoAF)

6. Table 2: Cereal Production Trend in Sudan (2006-2010)Source: Sudan MoAF

7. Table 3: Cereal Production in 2010

8. Table 4: Cereal Consumption Requirement in 2010

9. Table 5: Cereal Demand and Supply in 2010

10. Problems & dimensions of food insecurity: • different conflicts:(damaging of the social and economic fabric, destruction of the scarce infrastructure, displacement, weakening of institutions…etc.) • natural disasters (drought and floods) (displacements and high livestock mortality) • lack of infrastructure: (limiting marketing possibilities with food that cannot be moved from surplus to food deficit areas) • limited access to basic services • Insecurity in neighbouring countries

11. socio-psychological factors: (lack of innovativeness to find alternative sources of income, lack of personal savings, sheer laziness and resort to unproductive activities and a host of other unbecoming behavioural factors) • bad governance • out of date census and baseline data • duplications and lack of coordination

12. Major Challenges & priorities: • crucial information gaps (qualitative and quantitative); • poor access to information by food security stakeholders; • poor linkages between information on short term/transient food insecurity and structural/long term food insecurity; • Disconnection between policy, programming and planning and food security information and analysis.

13. duplications of mandates and functions and poor coordination • weak linkages between Federal Ministries and the State Ministries; • weak institutions not in the position to deliver the expected services; • determination of governments to make real change in implementing policies and strategies;

14. ensuring proper planning in the use of resources in viable investments, institutions, infrastructure, storage facilities, and enhancing productivity; • mainstreaming food security concerns in the ongoing Poverty Reduction Strategy process

15. Possible Interventions: • the need to put in place social protection measures to protect the most vulnerable; • Understanding who they are, how many they are and where they are through appropriate information systems • Understanding causes of vulnerability and their livelihoods basis and coping strategies through an appropriate information and analytical tools • Design and implement social protection measures: food aid, traditional safety net systems (e.g. religious based- Zakat), food prices subsidies and control, support to households with HIV/AIDS affected members

16. Design and implement livelihoods rehabilitation and strengthening measures: inputs and productive assets distribution, quick impact community based reintegration programmes, etc. • Reduce the risks of shocks through the strengthening of early warning, disaster prevention and preparedness measures, and by minimising the risks of conflict over resources • Monitoring vulnerabilities

17. the support to smallholder (traditional) agriculture and rural livelihoods as mean to address rural poverty(Poverty reduction through the support to smallholder agricultural production and rural people livelihood); • Improved livelihoods analysis of food insecure through a more systematic use of livelihoods frameworks of analyses

18. Improved agricultural vital information basis: markets prices and access, production, rainfall, land use pattern • Appropriate food security, livelihoods and pro-poor policies and programmes design monitoring and evaluation • A substantial increase and related monitoring of pro poor rural investments

19. the sustainable and equitable management of natural resources. • Natural resources surveys and mapping: proper planning will require proper information land tenure and land use, pastures availability, livestock routes, water availability and rights, forest resources etc. • Appropriate policies designed: land, forestry, rangelands, water, etc.

20. Prevention and resolution mechanisms for conflicts over resources as for instance in the conflicts between pastoralists and farmers and between returnees and resident population • Environmental considerations mainstreamed in food security and livelihoods support interventions

21. Transformation of traditional crop and livestock sectors based on a comprehensive integrated package of rural development programmes; • Introducing extensive institutional and management reforms of public irrigated schemes to revitalise their productivity and enhance farmers’ incomes;

22. Land tenure reform and appropriate policies for sustained natural resource management in the semi-mechanised large-scale rainfed schemes. • Provision of improved seeds • Research and technology transfer • Improved soil and water conservation practices

23. Control of crop and livestock pests and diseases • Facilitate access to credit through the establishment of rural credit institutions under the supervision of the formal banking system • Construction of feeder roads linking producing areas to market

24. Building a strategic grain reserve coupled with a viable drought and early warning system • Provision of primary health care and education services and improved and sustainable clean and hygienic water supplies for both domestic use and livestock.

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