Nearly 90% of Sudan’s Farmers Lose Output in Conflict Zones – Report

A Sudanese farmer plants eggplant in his farm in Tomnar village of Dongola, Sudan, Nov. 30, 2024. Photo Xinhua via Getty Images.

September 3, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Some 89% of farmers in Sudan’s conflict zones have seen their agricultural output decline, while more than half are unable to harvest crops due to insecurity, a new report by aid group CARE found on Tuesday.

The report, which surveyed 492 smallholder farmers in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, also revealed that the proportion of those cultivating small plots of land has doubled, and over three-quarters lose produce after harvesting due to theft and poor storage.

“We lost the entire harvest last season due to insecurity in the area,” one farmer in South Kordofan told researchers. “Armed conflict and violence made it too dangerous to access our fields”.

The crisis has a disproportionate impact on women, who made up 87.3% of the survey’s respondents. This high number reflects a trend of men migrating for work or staying home to avoid association with armed groups. Across all regions, 88.2% of those surveyed identified a lack of financial resources as a major barrier for women farmers.

Even for farmers who manage a harvest, access to markets has been decimated. Nearly 65% reported disruptions, with 17.5% having no market access at all due to dangerous roads and high transport costs. “Even when we harvest, there’s nowhere safe to store everything, as it either rots or gets stolen,” a woman in South Kordofan said.

The agricultural collapse is leading to severe hunger. “This year, we ate only once a day during the rainy season because there simply wasn’t enough food,” a female respondent in Rashad told CARE.

The study found men were slightly more likely than women to cope by reducing their number of meals, while women were more likely to reduce the nutritional diversity of their food. The report suggests this is because cultural norms often mean women eat last and least in the household.

CARE urged donors to treat agricultural support as life-saving assistance and to directly fund programs led by women to help restore Sudan’s broken food systems.