US-Israeli War vs Iran Disrupts Crop Yields in Sudan Suffering from Acute Famine

JAKARTA - Farmers across Sudan are complaining about rising global fuel and fertilizer prices due to the war in the Middle East triggered by the massive US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The conflict has forced farmers in Sudan to reduce summer plantings, which means limiting the production of food in the country, which is suffering from acute hunger.

At least eight farmers from various regions of Sudan, and experts working in the agricultural sector, told Reuters on Monday, May 25, that the rise in fuel and fertilizer prices would exacerbate their problems, which have already been hit by the production of domestic staple crops, such as sorghum and millet and exports such as sesame, due to facing a civil war.

According to UN data, Sudan is highly vulnerable to the impact of the Iranian crisis because half of its fertilizer needs depend on the Gulf countries.

On the one hand, Sudan is also being hit by a civil war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RAF) paramilitary so that the country is completely dependent on fuel imports.

Sudan is also on the front line of a looming global food crisis amid shrinking aid budgets.

The UN-backed monitoring agency said some 19.5 million people, more than 40 percent of the population in Sudan, face a famine, with some areas at risk of famine.

Meanwhile, for agricultural potential, Sudan has attracted investors from Gulf countries. However, unfortunately, this potential is hampered and the sector becomes abandoned as a result of decades of mismanagement and civil war.

Around two-thirds of Sudan's population depends on agriculture for a living.

The senior food security analyst of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Sudan, Sadig Elamin, said the war in the Middle East had added "salt to the wound" to his country. He also warned that overall agricultural production could fall "by no less than 40 percent."

According to the UN humanitarian office, OCHA, this month, the continued shocks risk exacerbating the famine "far beyond the current food crisis".