KHARTOUM – Darfur’s regional agriculture minister warned of an imminent humanitarian disaster in the region, saying famine now threatens millions of people as war, poor rainfall and the collapse of farming and pastoral livelihoods deepen food insecurity.
Al-Sadiq Barangou, Darfur’s minister of agriculture, said hunger in Darfur is now no less dangerous than the war itself, urging the international community and humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently to prevent what he described as a looming hunger catastrophe.
Barangou said farmers and residents across Darfur are facing overlapping crises, including poor rainfall this year, the drying of cultivated land and the deterioration of natural pastures relied upon by livestock.
He warned that the shortage of rain during the current agricultural season has damaged wide areas of farmland and grazing land, threatening crop production and livestock survival in a region where many families depend directly on farming and herding.
The minister said farmers are also facing war-related violations that go beyond killings and displacement, including the deliberate destruction of fields and farms.
He said fruit farms and cash crops, which represent an important source of local income and household livelihoods, have been particularly affected.
Barangou called on humanitarian actors and what he described as people of conscience to move quickly to save Darfur’s population, warning that continued deterioration of agricultural and security conditions could further worsen the region’s food crisis.
Agricultural Season at Risk
Farmers in several areas of Darfur have complained of weak rainfall during the current rainy season, raising fears of a failed agricultural season and declining crop production.
Residents fear that a poor harvest could drive up hunger levels and food prices in a region already battered by war, mass displacement and the disruption of production systems.
Darfur has been one of the regions most affected by Sudan’s war, with fighting, attacks on villages, displacement, blocked roads and market disruption severely reducing access to food, seeds, medicine and humanitarian assistance.
The collapse of farming activity also threatens to deepen dependence on aid at a time when humanitarian agencies face insecurity, funding shortages and access restrictions across several parts of Sudan.
War, Displacement and Food Insecurity
Sudan’s war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has devastated agricultural production in many regions and disrupted supply routes linking rural producers with towns and markets.
In Darfur, the conflict has displaced large numbers of civilians, left many farming communities unable to cultivate their land and pushed pastoral communities into increasingly fragile conditions as insecurity and climate pressures limit movement.
Humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned that hunger could worsen sharply if aid access is not expanded and agricultural livelihoods are not protected before the end of the rainy season.
Barangou’s warning adds to growing concern that Darfur’s food crisis could enter a more severe phase if the current agricultural season fails and humanitarian access remains limited.
