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Coronavirus Threatens Food Security in Sudan

Food security in Sudan is facing a new crisis with the precautionary measures taken by the state to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Reuters
Food security in Sudan is facing a new crisis with the precautionary measures taken by the state to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Reuters
TT
TT

Coronavirus Threatens Food Security in Sudan

Food security in Sudan is facing a new crisis with the precautionary measures taken by the state to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Reuters
Food security in Sudan is facing a new crisis with the precautionary measures taken by the state to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Reuters

Food security in Sudan faces new challenges as the government takes restrictive measures on stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The measures have greatly affected producers especially those working in the agriculture sector, which represents 44% of the Sudanese economy.

The curfew imposed on producers in the agriculture and industrial sectors threatens the future of food security in the African country, where preparations for summer seasonal crops are usually made in April and May.

Sudan's Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to UN agencies in Rome, Abdul Wahab Hijazi, said that with the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, entering full lockdown there is a desperate need to rush completing agriculture tasks for the upcoming summer season.

Hijazi warned that the shutdown harshly affects small-scale producers and farmers as they are the most vulnerable.

The agricultural sector is one of the largest economic sectors in Sudan with 80% of the population depending on agriculture. The sector participates with 44% of the gross domestic product and is the main driver of agricultural industries.

Official reports indicate that Sudan has about 200 million acres of arable land, of which only 25% is used.

The Sudanese cabinet of ministers had formed a supreme committee tasked with having the summer seasonal crop thrive by providing needed aid to farmers.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese undersecretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Abdul Qadir Turkawi, played down the impact of the state’s COVID-19 measures on the progress of operations for the country's agricultural season.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry, last March, started importing seeds and fertilizers in cooperation with the Sudanese Agricultural Bank.

“The situation is reassuring for the success of the agricultural season despite the difficulties encountered,” Turkawi said, clarifying that the global slowdown due to the coronavirus will affect only the import of a few seeds, because most seeds are produced locally through the Arab Company for Seeds Production.

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FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
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Oil Rises on Upbeat China Data, Shaky Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

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Brent crude futures climbed 57 cents, or 0.79%, to $72.41 a barrel by 0700 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.58 a barrel, up 58 cents, or 0.85%.
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This offered slight relief that oil demand from China may hold for now, he added.
A private-sector survey showed China's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in November, boosting Chinese firms' optimism just as US President-elect Donald Trump ramps up his trade threats.
Still, traders are eyeing developments in Syria, weighing if they could widen tension across the Middle East, Yeap said.
A truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Wednesday, but each side accused the other of breaching the ceasefire.
In a statement, the Lebanese health ministry said several people were wounded in two Israeli strikes in south Lebanon. Air strikes also intensified in Syria, as President Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush insurgents who had swept into the city of Aleppo.
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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, postponed its meeting to Dec. 5, sources told Reuters last week.
This week's meeting will decide policy for the early months of 2025.
Since the group's production hike had been widely expected, the market's focus may be on the extent of delay to sway crude prices, said IG's Yeap.
"An indefinite delay may be the best case for oil prices, given that earlier rounds of delays by a month or so have failed to drive higher oil prices in line with what OPEC+ intended."
Brent is expected to average $74.53 per barrel in 2025 as economic weakness in China clouds the demand picture and ample global supplies outweigh support from an expected delay to a planned OPEC+ output hike, a Reuters monthly oil price poll showed on Friday.
That is the seventh straight downward revision in the 2025 consensus for the global benchmark, which has averaged $80 per barrel so far in 2024.