Sudan, FAO launch $72 million food security programme

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Sudanese government signed a four-year $72 million Country Programming Framework in Khartoum today.

The goals of the 2017-2020 Country Programming Framework (CPF) to be achieved after three years include “Enabling Policy and the Institutional Environment for Food Security and Nutrition, Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, and Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Building”, the UN Information Centre in Khartoum, said in a statement today.

“The CPF represents the commitment of FAO in assisting the Government in its efforts to achieve national development objectives and to achieve food and nutrition security for the population,” Dr Abdellatif Ujeimi, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry for Sudan, said at the signing ceremony.

According to FAO’s Representative in Sudan, Babagana Ahmadu, “FAO rolls out its four-year programme after a broad range of consultations with the government, UN Agencies, Partners and civil society, to define the development priorities for the collaboration between the Sudanese government and FAO in the fields of agriculture, food security and natural resources.”

Agriculture is the most important economic sector in Sudan, accounting for nearly one-third of the country’s National Gross Domestic Product. Around two-thirds of the population live off of agriculture, with about 80 percent of the local labour force gaining jobs through this sector. It also provides most of the inputs for transformative industries such as edible oils, sugar and fibers, the UN statement reads.

The CPF aims to support the development of many crucial elements of this country’s agricultural sector, including raising income and employment as well as enhancing food security and poverty reduction, while also increasing agricultural exports and adding further linkages between agriculture and other key economic sectors.

Sustainable development

The CPF is aligned with Sudan’s national development objectives, which are articulated in its Quarter Centurial Development Strategy, National Development Plan, Comprehensive Food Security Policy and National Agriculture Investment Plan, in addition to FAO’s global and regional objectives.

As part of the CPF’s priority areas, FAO will work in close collaboration with the GOS to enhance the design and implementation of policies and the development of programmes to improve agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries, and to ensure food security and nutrition for all.

Furthermore, FAO will support the GOS in developing enhanced methods towards managing its natural resources through better planning and boosting agricultural production by connecting various players in the sector to local, regional, and international influencers along the value chain. Finally, the CPF will work with the GOS to make the country less vulnerable to climate change and to better sustain affected persons in areas of conflict and environmental concern.

The Government of Sudan and FAO will implement the programme with support from the wider spectrum of stakeholders within the private sector, semi-government institutions and civil society.

$17 million already mobilised

FAO has already sourced $17 million, out of $ 72 million that is required to implement the programmes and projects that are proposed in the Framework.

“We will continue working with the Government of Sudan to mobilize the remaining $ 55 million through FAO’s Technical Corporation Programme (TCP) and Trust Funds from development partners, as well as from the Government’s budgetary allocations,” said Ahmadu.