In Darfur, 90% of harvests lost as famine risk grows
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Radio Dabanga
Nineteen agricultural emergency rooms in Darfur warn that the farming season has failed, with losses estimated at 90% of sorghum harvests. Justice Africa Sudan calls for an immediate national ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access, according to Radio Dabanga. Thousands of families have fled to Tawila and Chad.
Nineteen agricultural emergency rooms across Darfur, in western Sudan, estimate that the current farming season has failed, due to drought and irregular rainfall. Justice Africa Sudan (JAS), a human rights organisation, estimates crop losses at around 90% in the main sorghum-producing regions and calls for an immediate and unconditional national ceasefire.
Jalal Eddin Abkar Yousif, who heads these emergency rooms, told Radio Dabanga that 2026 is one of the worst years for Sudan. The rooms had aimed to cultivate more than 1,800 feddans during the rainy season, a target reduced to 1,100 feddans for lack of resources and funding, for more than 1,000 beneficiaries. Intermittent rains prevented many crops from germinating from the start.
Adam Rijal, spokesperson for the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees of Darfur, says that around 538 families, or 3,227 people, arrived between 15 October and 6 November, according to field monitoring. Thousands of families have fled Mershing towards Tawila, Shangil Tobaya and Nierteti, and others have crossed the border into Chad. This crisis follows the one described in Drought worsens famine risk in Sudan.
