Rebuilding Sudan’s Wheat Sector

ICARDA, with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is implementing the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation II (TAATII) Wheat project in Sudan in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC).

Sudan’s wheat sector, once on the path to self-sufficiency, is now caught between conflict and resilience. Before the war disrupted the country’s agricultural systems, Sudan had expanded wheat cultivation to over 300,000 hectares, producing more than one million tons in 2019/20, covering half of its domestic needs. This upward trajectory was promising. But war does not discriminate, and the Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Sudan’s key agricultural research body, was displaced from Wad Medani alongside the population, jeopardizing years of progress.

Against these odds, a quiet revival is underway. With support from AfDB, ICARDA’s TAAT Wheat project is working with ARC to rebuild critical research and seed production systems. Operating from new locations at New Halfa and Dongola bases, ARC can now produce early-generation wheat seed, demonstrate climate-smart varieties, train farmers on good agricultural practices and establish IP sites for stakeholders collaboration.

The progress was on full display at a recent field day, where Sudan’s federal and state Ministers of Agriculture joined officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Food Program (WFP), seed companies, and farmer organizations to assess the project’s impact.

Nearly 200 participants from 15 institutions gathered to witness the tangible efforts made to restore wheat production since/after the latest emergency.

ICARDA’s work in Sudan is not new. Since the 1980s, its Nile Valley Regional Program has supported wheat and legume research across Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Eritrea, leading to breakthroughs such as heat-tolerant wheat varieties capable of thriving south of Khartoum. Today, alongside partners like JICA and WFP, ICARDA and ARC are stitching together a fractured sector, ensuring that agricultural research and the farmers who rely on it do not become war casualties.

With continued support, Sudan’s wheat sector may yet defy expectations, rebuilding production and hope.

Tags: self-sufficiency, Sudan, Production, wheat, cultivation