Nyala , June 21(Darfur 24)
Several challenges are facing the summer planting season in Darfur. With the onset of rains in many areas, farmers have yet to prepare the land.
These challenges include insecurity, a lack of financing due to the suspension of bank operations, a shortage of seeds, fuel, and agricultural machinery, as well as a shortage of cash and a lack of labor.
These challenges raise serious concerns about the failure of the agricultural season, leading to a worsening hunger crisis in the region, where 79% of the population needs humanitarian assistance this year, according to the United Nations.
Concerns are growing as thousands of farmers, who rely on subsistence farming, are unable to access their farms due to increasing insecurity.
More than 80% of Darfur’s population relies on the agricultural and livestock sectors to meet their needs, and commercial activity is directly linked to the success of the agricultural season.
Agriculture
Shrinking Areas in Central Darfur
Farmers in Darfur states expressed concern about the impact of seed scarcity, fuel shortages, and a lack of funding on the agricultural season, which begins in late June.
Yahya Abkar Mahmoud, a farmer from Wadi Saleh locality in West Darfur, told Darfur 24 that the cultivated areas in the locality—the largest in the state—have decreased significantly compared to the previous two years due to a lack of capital and the deteriorating security situation.
He pointed out that most farmers are now confined to cultivating small areas to provide for their families, instead of cultivating areas of up to 100 acres per farmer. Instead, they are now cultivating areas estimated at a maximum of 10 acres, limited to corn, peanuts, millet, cowpeas, and hibiscus.
Saif al-Din Abdullah, a community leader in Mukjar, West Darfur, explained that the agricultural sector faces challenges, most notably security chaos and the spread of armed groups, as well as herders who do not adhere to specific livestock routes and attack farms in the absence of regulatory authorities.
Saif al-Din told Darfur 24 that the civilian administration affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces has not developed a plan to protect and support the agricultural season, which has exacerbated the problem. The crisis has heightened farmers’ fears of attacks by herders, threatening the stability of the entire agricultural season and jeopardizing food security for the population.
Saif al-Din noted that citizens have no choice but to cultivate their land and rely on their own resources to secure a minimum of food, especially after the disruption of food supply routes from national projects in Gedaref and Al-Jazirah, in addition to the weak humanitarian intervention.
The impact of El Fasher extends to the rest of North Darfur.
The situation of farmers in El Fasher, North Darfur, is becoming increasingly complex. It has become almost impossible for farmers to leave the city to go to the farms due to the clashes, shelling, and siege.
Suleiman Abkar, a farmer from Shangil Tobay, south of El Fasher, told Darfur 24 that the deteriorating security situation has prevented them from reaching their farms, especially after farmers were attacked by unknown armed groups and livestock owners during the last harvest season.
He explained that the agricultural area in Shangil Tobay has decreased sharply, from more than 30,000 acres to less than 3,000 acres over the past year, after farmers turned to cultivating the land with livestock, having previously been cultivated using agricultural machinery.
Salma Yousef Ibrahim, a farmer displaced from El Fasher to the town of Kabkabiya, 155 kilometers west of El Fasher, said that many have refrained from farming this season due to security threats, the lack of resources to cultivate large areas, and the ongoing diplacement of citizens.
Salma explained that she is seeking to cultivate only three acres of sorghum, millet, and okra to achieve self-sufficiency with the help of her family members. She used to cultivate the land with livestock. About 20 acres before the war.
She pointed out that the cost of plowing increased last year, with the price of an acre reaching 120,000 Egyptian pounds using a tractor and 80,000 Egyptian pounds using livestock. She expects it to reach 200,000 Egyptian pounds this year due to rising fuel prices.
North Darfur is experiencing a severe food crisis due to the siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on El Fasher, the state capital, for more than a year. El Fasher is the last stronghold of the army in the region.
The Ministry of Agriculture in North Darfur estimates the arable land in the state at approximately 5 million acres, located in highly productive localities such as Dar al-Salam, Kalamundo, Al-Maliha, Kabkabiya, Tawila, and areas northwest of El Fasher.
The lack of seeds in South Darfur
South Darfur was previously the most productive state in the region due to its vast areas and farmers’ reliance on bank financing. However, it now faces a major challenge in finding financing after banks left the state due to the war.
Ali Hussein Dhi al-Nour, head of the South Darfur Chamber of Commerce, said that they They financed about 700 farmers last season after banks closed and government institutions froze their operations.
He added, speaking at an economic conference held by the Rapid Support Forces’ civilian administrations in early May in Nyala, that farmers were affected by the closure of banks that had previously financed them.
Musa Aldai, a farmer from Nyala, confirmed to Darfur 24 that farming costs have increased during the past and current seasons due to the lack of financing through banks, in addition to the government’s lack of agricultural fuel support for large agricultural projects.
Musa indicated that he cultivated an area estimated at 750 acres before the war in the town of Sani Delaba in Al-Salam locality, but that area has gradually decreased during the past and current seasons to 100 acres.