Finance Ministry Reaffirms Commitment to Agricultural Spending
Mohamed Bashar, Undersecretary for Planning at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, reiterated the state’s commitment to prioritizing spending on the agricultural sector in order to achieve food security and support small farmers in shifting from subsistence farming to more sustainable, market-oriented production.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) also announced its readiness to resume funding for the Sudan Natural Resources Management and Livelihoods Program.
During a meeting with Dr. Rasha Omar, IFAD’s Country Director in Sudan, at the ministry complex in Port Sudan on Monday, Bashar reviewed the outcomes of IFAD’s field visits to project sites including New Halfa and Port Sudan. He welcomed the resumption of IFAD financing for small producers, stressing the need to provide beneficiaries with more efficient production tools and to adapt international best practices to Sudan’s local context.
He further highlighted the country’s promising livestock resources and the opportunities for IFAD to intervene in improving productivity and boosting economic returns.
For her part, Dr. Omar confirmed IFAD’s willingness to resume funding for the program across Sudan’s states, aligning with the Fund’s strategy to enhance food security and help small farmers transition from subsistence farming to commercial production. She explained that the program’s main components include expanding community-based natural resource management, improving institutional frameworks, and strengthening coordination among stakeholders—government, NGOs, the private sector, and local communities. The project is being implemented in nine states: Gezira, Khartoum, River Nile, Kassala, Gedaref, Sennar, and the Kordofan region.
