Sudan’s violent armed conflict, now entering its third year, has contaminated pastures in key agricultural regions with shells and hazardous chemicals, driving up feed costs and threatening thousands of farms.
Lack of pastures suitable for grazing has recently spurred feed costs in Sudan to unprecedented highs, Independent Arabia, a local daily publication, has recently warned, citing local farmers.
Hundreds of animals have died in the main food-producing regions of Darfur. Kordofan and the Blue Nile due to thirst and a lack of food.
Thousands of sheep and goats are threatened with death due to the lack of water and grazing areas as a result of the escalation of fighting,” – Fadlallah Makin, a livestock owner in the Abu Haraz area of western Sudan.
Pastures unsuitable for feed grain production
Farmers say that pastures in the areas affected by the fighting are no longer suitable for feeding agricultural animals, and as long as the conflict drags on, it is highly unlikely any steps will be taken to recover the affected territories.
Water scarcity
This year, the crisis has been further escalated by an unprecedented and severe drought, which has destroyed the sources of drinking water in the agricultural areas, exacerbating the already dire situation.
“Breeders have been forced to hire tankers to transport water from the cities to grazing areas to water their livestock while flocks of sheep and goats continue to die,” Omar Al-Mahi, a cattle herder in the Al-Radom area of South Darfur State. “Farm owners are unable to solve the crisis.”
Feed market supply disruptions
In addition, the armed conflict has led to supply disruption in the feed market, farmers revealed.
“Feed is no longer as readily available as it was in the past. Things have become extremely difficult, and high prices have affected everything. With exports and market activity halted in various states, the financial savings of breeders and owners have been depleted,” Idris Abdeen, a livestock owner in the Kurmuk area of Blue Nile State, said.
Impact on humanitarian crisis
Farmers warn that the problems of the livestock sector can fuel the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Sudan due to the ongoing civil war.
Sudan faces a worsening humanitarian catastrophe as famine and conflict escalate, UN experts warned earlier this year. 24.6 million people – about half the population – at that time were experiencing acute food insecurity, with 638,000 facing catastrophic hunger, a record high, the UN calculated.
