Drought Threatens Sudan's Rainfed Crop Season

Gedaref, July 31, 2026 - Spreading drought across Sudan's main agricultural regions is threatening the 2026 rainfed crop season, raising the risk of deeper food shortages in areas already battered by civil war. Farmers in Gedaref, Sudan's key grain-producing state, said prolonged dry spells have left land difficult to cultivate nearly two months into the rainy season.

Agricultural specialists warned that delayed rains could expose sorghum, sesame and other staples to heat stress and pests, sharply reducing yields in the rainfed sector that supplies much of the country's food. The risk is especially severe in Darfur and Kordofan, where fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces has displaced millions of people and pushed large areas of farmland out of production.

Blocked trade routes and shrinking supplies have already driven up food prices, with a bag of sorghum rising from about 110,000 to nearly 170,000 Sudanese pounds in some local markets in recent weeks. Water levels along the Nile have also fallen. Former water ministry officials have linked the decline to uncoordinated operations at Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, with Sudan's war disrupting technical communication between the two countries.

Heavy rain in parts of eastern Sudan late Friday offered some relief, but the outlook for national food security remains highly fragile.