OCHA: More planting in Sudan after August rains

Improved rains since mid-August have facilitated planting in rain-fed areas of Sudan, according to latest Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS NET) Food Security Outlook Update for September. Conditions in the sorghum belt in eastern and central Sudan remain far below average.

By mid-September, up to 65 percent of agricultural lands in rain-fed areas had been planted—as opposed to only 40 percent planted in August, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported in its latest weekly bulletin.

However, vegetation conditions in the surplus-producing sorghum belt in eastern and central Sudan are well below average. FEWS Net stated that while sorghum production prospects have improved, the late start of season, low rainfall, and below-average planted area have reduced the seasonal agricultural labour demand, with daily wages reportedly down by one third.

Prices of sorghum and millet are already skyrocketing in western and eastern Sudan, traders told Radio Dabanga last week.

The most food insecure Sudanese continue to be in the conflict-affected areas of Darfur, South Kordofan, West Kordofan, and Blue Nile states, OCHA reported. The majority of the Population in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) are in Darfur, especially among the recently displaced. Families in crisis are also found among displaced people in areas controlled by the Sudan People Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan.

Pastures

There is less and poorer quality pasture land available than usual this year and as a result, livestock are already being migrated southward towards agricultural land in El Gedaref, Kassala, and Sennar states in eastern Sudan, and El Gezira state south of Khartoum. This migration usually takes place in December-January, with livestock typically arriving during or just after the harvest period.

As crops are now in an earlier stage of development, there is a higher risk that they will be destroyed or consumed by livestock, heightening therisk of conflict between farmers and pastoralists.

El Niño

The delayed rainfall, rainfall shortage, and intermittent dry spells that have characterised the current rainy season in Sudan have all been driven by El Niño warming, FEWS NET reported. The strength of the current El Niño is comparable to the strongest El Niño events in recorded history.

Sudan’s food security is heavily dependent on rainfall with at least 70 percent of the population relying on traditional rain-fed agriculture and livestock production for their food and income.

According to a recent Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food security rapid assessment, the impact of El Niño in Sudan is currently in line with regional forecasts. The late and inconsistent rainfall has also delayed crop planting in many of Sudan's key production areas, increasing the risk of crop failures and poor yields at harvest time in December-January.