Sudan’s 2026 planting season faces a closing window as hunger deepens
Sudan’s conflict has damaged farms, markets and transport routes as millions face acute hunger. FAO says 41% of the population is acutely food insecure and warns that farmers risk missing the main planting season in June; CARE says conflict, displacement and poor rainfall also threaten the October–January harvest.
Bottom line — FAO estimates Sudan’s 2025/26 cereal crop at 5.2 million tonnes, 22% below 2024.
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FAO reports famine confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli since September 2025, with millions more at immediate risk in Darfur and Kordofan.
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FAO says 4.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished, including 800,000 facing severe malnutrition.
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FAO’s 2026 humanitarian plan seeks $2.9 billion; it was 16.2% funded as of April 2026.
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UNDP and the International Trade Centre say staple prices in some areas exceed pre-war levels by more than 200%, while checkpoints and informal taxation have raised transaction costs by 30–40%.
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UNDP and the International Trade Centre identify sorghum, sesame, groundnuts, soybean, gum arabic, hibiscus and livestock as value chains with potential to support food security and incomes.
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CARE says poor and erratic rainfall and drought concerns are compounding conflict-related threats to the harvest.