Sudan’s farmers reject new focused wheat price

Farmers of El Gezira and El Managil agricultural scheme in central Sudan reject the focused price of wheat sacks announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, demanding it to be raised.

The price of a wheat sack has been focused on SDG400 ($61.10), which according to the farmers should be raised by SDG100 ($15.60). They pointed to the rise of production inputs and the US Dollar rate.

The price for a sack of wheat had been focused for four years before the decision.

Ibrahim Musa, a farmer in El Managil, told Radio Dabanga that the price of a bag of fertiliser was raised from SDG250 ($38.20) to SDG300 ($45.90), as well as other products including wheat.

Farmers protested to the decision by waving the sale of their products in the markets, demanding the government resolve the problem.

Last November El Gezira and El Managil Farmers’ Association said that the recent economic measures and increase of fuel prices are threatening the current and coming agricultural season. A number of farmers had to stop using irrigation pumps and harvesting devices because of soaring fuel prices.

Recently farmers of the central Sudan agricultural schemes have confirmed the failure of the current agricultural season because of drought, and “catastrophic deterioration of the irrigation infrastructure”.