Sudan is facing mounting food security concerns as the 2026 rain-fed farming season enters a critical stage, with unusually delayed and below-average rainfall threatening crop production across several key agricultural regions.
The impact has been particularly severe in Darfur and Kordofan, where poor rainfall has compounded the disruption caused by the ongoing conflict. In Gedaref state, widely regarded as one of Sudan’s main food-producing regions, farmers have described conditions as disastrous.
Many farmers have yet to plough their land or begin planting. At the same point last year, crops had already started germinating, raising fears that the current season could be significantly delayed or lost altogether.
The crisis also extends to the Butana plain in eastern Sudan, where farmers said rainfall remained weak and stopped abruptly after a period of heavy rain in mid-July. The sudden dry spell reportedly caused seeds to rot in the soil before they could germinate.
Financial losses have forced some farmers to leave their villages and move to urban areas in search of alternative income. Pastoralists, meanwhile, have increasingly gathered near irrigated farms and water sources, contributing to repeated tensions with farmers after livestock entered fields and damaged crops.
In Darfur and Kordofan, the situation is even more precarious as fighting has removed large areas from agricultural production. Thousands of families that depend on rain-fed farming for food and income now risk losing the entire season.
The deteriorating agricultural outlook has already affected food prices. The price of a sack of sorghum has reportedly risen from 110,000 Sudanese pounds to about 170,000 pounds, while a sack of seeds is now selling for as much as 300,000 pounds.
The combination of delayed rainfall, conflict, rising production costs and shrinking cultivated land has intensified fears of a broader hunger crisis if weather conditions do not improve and farmers are unable to resume planting.
