The Sudanese Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has signed an $83 million agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group to significantly strengthen and sustain the country’s agricultural and food security systems. This historic agreement was signed during a special session held on the sidelines of the bank’s annual meetings currently underway in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.
Approved by the bank’s Board of Executive Directors on April 22, this massive project primarily aims to scale up the volume and availability of food production in the country. Additionally, its primary goal is to create widespread employment opportunities within agribusiness, focusing specifically on women and youth. The project will be implemented across Sudan’s key agricultural zones—namely Blue Nile, Sennar, and Kassala states—which currently host large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
This development project is expected to benefit more than 1.2 million people both directly and indirectly, encompassing over 232,000 farming households. Furthermore, it is projected to generate tens of thousands of new direct and indirect jobs throughout its execution.
During the signing ceremony, Sudan’s Minister of Finance, Jibril Ibrahim, met and held discussions with Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, the President of the African Development Bank Group. The two leaders discussed the bank group’s potential support for Sudan’s reconstruction efforts, agricultural development, and food security. Minister Jibril Ibrahim briefed the AfDB President on the severe economic and social fallout caused by the ongoing war in the country, highlighting the extensive destruction of infrastructure and productive sectors—particularly electricity, education, health, and water supply. Consequently, he called upon the bank to maintain and strengthen its support for Sudan’s reconstruction and economic recovery.
In response, the President of the Bank, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, reaffirmed the African Development Bank’s unwavering commitment to Sudan. He noted that the bank is currently exploring ways to better support the agricultural sector using resources previously allocated to Sudan, while accelerating the implementation of existing ongoing projects. Prominent among these is a wheat production expansion project being carried out in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP).
The bank indicated that the funding for this new project was secured by reallocating unspent grant resources from previously cancelled operations. This mechanism has enabled the redirection of funds toward urgent national priorities. Other new projects funded through this restructured financial mechanism include the Port Sudan water project and a solar-powered agricultural irrigation pump scheme.
Separate from this agreement, the African Development Bank had approved an $87 million grant in late April to support food security and rural livelihoods in Sudan. While the African Development Fund—the bank’s concessional lending arm—contributed the $87 million, international organizations and United Nations agencies, including the FAO, WFP, UN Women, and CIMMYT, provided an additional $12.3 million in in-kind support.
Under this sustainable agricultural project, participating farmers will receive improved high-yield seeds and climate-smart agricultural technologies. Furthermore, to reduce post-harvest losses and improve household incomes, farmers will be granted enhanced access to modern storage facilities, processing equipment, and broader market networks.
