Saudi emergency aid ship heads for Port Sudan

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent an emergency aid ship to Sudan “to save the agricultural season”.

The Saudi News Agency quoted an official source as saying: “A ship carrying more than 50,000 tons of urea (an animal feed additive and fertiliser) and other farming requirements moved from the Jubail industrial port in Saudi Arabia to Port Sudan to save the agricultural season in Sudan”.

The source stressed that “this support came under the direct guidance of the leadership of the two countries to continue the brotherly and continuous positions to support the people of the brotherly Sudan in the current crisis and to reduce the burden on the farmers of the Sudan, as agriculture is a major source of income for a large number of the people of Sudan”.

The sources added, “This aid was an extension of the $3 billion financial support provided by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including $500 million as a deposit at the Central Bank of Sudan to support the economy and ease pressure on the Sudanese Pound”.

Sudan agriculture under pressure

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, in several parts of Sudan, farmers complain of high fuel prices, high costs of agricultural production necessities, and lack of water.

Farmer Ahmed Mohamed, living in Halfa El Jadeeda in Kassala in eastern Sudan told Radio Dabanga that the prices of seed and other production requirements rose significantly compared to the past agricultural season. He also pointed to the lack of diesel in the state’s fuel stations.

He said he fears this will delay the preparation of agricultural land, which in turn will affect the yields.

Farmers of the El Gezira and El Managil Agricultural Scheme also complain about an acute shortage of irrigation water and fuel.

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