Sudan: African Development Bank Group commits nearly $74 million to boost wheat production | African Development Bank

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved $73.81 million on December 9, 2022 in Abidjan to fund the Sudan Emergency Wheat Production Project under the bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Sudanese economy, accounting for 60% of total national exports and a third of gross domestic product. It employs more than half of the country’s workforce.

Sudan, the third largest country by land area, has long suffered from extreme food insecurity due to multiple factors, including economic decline and hyperinflation, conflict-induced population displacement and poor agricultural harvests.

This situation has worsened in the wake of the current global food and energy price increases that have also hit the country hard. Sorghum and millet prices have increased by 150-200% since 2021, while wheat prices have almost tripled. This is because 60-70% of the wheat consumed in Sudan is imported, mainly from Russia and Ukraine. Fertilizer prices have also tripled, as has energy, fueling inflation.

The funds from the African Development Bank will assist in the large-scale procurement and delivery of certified seeds of climate-adapted varieties, fertilizers and extension services for smallholder farmers. The project is expected to more than double wheat production from 630,000 tons today to 1.52 million tons in two years. About 400,000 smallholder households, 40% of whom are women, will benefit from the scheme. Nearly 800,000 temporary workers will also benefit from the spin-offs in the wheat, seed and fertilizer value chains.

“Sudan, with the largest irrigated area in sub-Saharan Africa, has enormous potential to become not only self-sufficient in wheat but also an exporter,” said Nnenna Nwabufo, African Development Bank Director General for East Africa.

The project targets small-scale farmers, seasonal workers, seed producers and agricultural traders in Sudan’s main wheat-producing regions, such as Al-Jazira, New Halfa, Upper Nile and White Nile, which have large irrigated areas and are more resilient. to climate change.

The World Food Program in Sudan will implement the project.

“The Sudan Emergency Wheat Production Project (SEWPP) will benefit from spillovers and lessons learned from previous projects the bank has funded in the country,” said Mary Monyau, country manager of the African Development Bank in Sudan. Notable among the successful projects is the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Wheat initiative (2018-2021), which has revitalized the Sudanese wheat sector, increasing yields from 1.5 to 2.3 tonnes/hectare and increasing the production of less than 350,000 tons to 1.1 million. tons in just five years (from 2014 to 2019).

The Bank launched the $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Facility in May 2022 to help African countries avert a looming food crisis due to the disruption of food supply caused by the war in Ukraine.

The bank currently has 19 operations in Sudan, with a total commitment of $486.2 million. The agricultural sector is the largest beneficiary, with $272.3 million in investments (56% of the portfolio).