SW News: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has come out with a plan to provide essential items to affected communities in civil war-hit Sudan. The UN body has decided to distribute seeds, livestock treatment kits, and medicines among the people who have been bearing the brunt of the brutal conflict for the past several months.

The move is aimed at enhancing the production of foodgrain, seed diversification and protecting livestock from diseases.

FAO estimates that the emergency actions will meet the foodgrain requirement of up to 19 million people in the harvest this year. According to FAO delegate in Sudan Hongyie Yang, “Millions of people across Sudan are facing a battle for survival as the food security crisis worsens”.

“This emergency response plan aims to provide farming, herding and fishing families with the basics they need to keep production going and feed themselves and their communities.”

As per the plan of the FAO, vulnerable communities will be given high-quality seeds of cowpea, groundnut, millet, okra and sorghum anticipating the 2024 summer season. They will also be provided with pigeon pea, cucumber, tomato and watermelon seeds for the upcoming winter season. The organization will also train farmers in best practices such as the handling of post-harvest produce including manure.

FAO is also planning a vaccination drive to protect the sheep, goat and cattle population from diseases such as ovine rinderpest, sheep and goat pox and foot-and-mouth disease.

Between July and September this year, more than 20 million people representing 42 percent of the Sudanese population experienced acute food insecurity and it was double the figure from May 2022.

The ongoing conflict is exacerbating the situation. Since April this year, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a conflict displacing almost 5.1 million people across the nation.