FAO response came as “a result of a grave rise in food security needs, where more than 20 million people were assessed to face crisis levels of acute food insecurity”, the organisation said Wednesday.
Altaghyeer: Agencies
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) distributed nearly 10 000 tonnes of seeds to 1 million farming households – or 5 million people – in time for the critical planting season from June to September 2023.
The Organization said in a new response overview released Wednesday “this critical seeds support has enabled farmers to produce enough food to meet the cereal needs of between 13 and 19 million people” following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023 which plunged nearly half the population into a humanitarian crisis.
FAO said the total planted area in Sudan is estimated to be 15 percent lower than the annual average during the summer season. In addition to the conflict, farmers suffered other challenges such as high prices of agricultural inputs and a critical lack of finance and extension services.
“FAO’s support to the Sudanese rural communities was immense but the needs are still growing. Agricultural support must continue, and funding is critically needed to match resources to needs,” said Hongjie Yang, FAO Representative in Sudan.
“This is an urgent reminder to continue taking action now and show the people of Sudan they have not been and will not be forgotten”, he said.
Support must be urgently scaled up
FAO’s response came as a result of a grave rise in food security needs, where more than 20 million people were assessed to face crisis levels of acute food insecurity.
“Complicating this picture is an expected rise in animal disease outbreaks due to the lack of veterinary services and vaccines. This could lead to significant livestock losses, and potentially ripple into a decline in meat and milk consumption, driving up malnutrition rates among children”, the Organization said.
FAO plans to support a total of 2 million agropastoral and pastoral households between November and December 2023.
The Organization urgently needs $75.4 million corresponding to almost 80 percent of funding required under the revised Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan from May to December 2023.
