A farmer ploughs a field with his tractor ahead of the planting season
on June 30, 2011. Smallholder farmers in Sudan lose about 30 per cent of
their harvest due to poor storage systems. FILE PHOTO | AFP
Sudan and World Food Programme (WFP) have unveiled a programme
to prevent the country from running out of food after harvest season.
Sudanese
agriculture minister Eisa Osman Sharif on Wednesday said that Khartoum
and the UN agency is working on a plan to help small-scale farmers
reduce post-harvest losses and alleviate poverty.
The
state seeks to prioritise agriculture by developing policies to
encourage investments in the sector to contribute to food security,
nutrition, eliminating hunger and alleviating poverty, Mr Sharif told
journalists.
He spoke during a three-day training and market awareness drive in the Sudanese capital.
The
Hermetic Storage Communication Campaign targets two million farmers in
Kassala, Gedaref and White Nile states up from 500,000 in 2019.
Smallholder
farmers in Sudan lose about 30 per cent of their harvest due to poor
storage systems leading to losses amounting to millions of Sudanese
pounds, according to WFP.
“The impact of harvest losses to Sudan’s annual production adds
to food insecurity across many states that are reliant on agriculture as
the primary source of income,” said Hameed Nuru, WFP's country
director.
“The next step is for the Sudanese private
sector to see the business opportunities, invest in simple technologies
that will help in reducing post-harvest loss, and be willing to
distribute these products along their existing supply chain to reach
farmers,” Mr Nuru added.
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