Overview

Sustain Sudan Project begun in 2025 and aims to support rebuilding and restoration of local food production. For this, farmers require accessibility to farm inputs: seeds, fertilizers and crop protection; and secondarily access to markets, finance and technical assistance.

Sustain Sudan is a multi-stakeholder platform applying a market-based approach that strengthens and incentivizes existing market actors rather than creating parallel systems. Led by Sustain Africa, hosted by IFDC, the initiative is implemented in partnership with CIMMYT, Clingendael Institute, and 249Startups.

Together, they work closely with international producers and traders, local agro-dealers, and financial institutions to rebuild resilient agricultural supply chains and enable sustainable, market-driven access to inputs across Sudan.

Our Approach

We deliver sustainable agricultural and livelihood solutions by combining conflict-sensitive programming, market-based approaches, and strong local partnerships across Sudan.

Conflict-Sensitive Implementation - All activities are designed with a thorough understanding of local contexts to ensure interventions strengthen community resilience and contribute positively to social stability.

Strengthening Local Systems - We work through existing market systems and local institutions, supporting supply chains and promoting long-term sustainability rather than creating parallel structures.

Adaptive and Data-Driven - Through continuous monitoring and evaluation, we track progress, measure impact, and adapt interventions to meet evolving needs and challenges.

Localized Solutions - Activities are tailored to the specific needs of each target area, helping farmers improve productivity, resilience, and food security.

Partnership-Led Delivery - By collaborating with agro-dealers, microfinance institutions, irrigation schemes, and other local stakeholders, we strengthen local capacity and foster lasting impact.

Key program components include the distribution of agricultural inputs, strengthening of local supply systems, and support to farmers to enhance productivity and resilience.

This approach stands out by working through local systems and institutions. By partnering with agro-dealers, microfinance institutions, and irrigation schemes, the project strengthens local networks, builds capacity, and ensures sustainable, context-specific interventions.

Results to Date

Despite severe time constraints, the need to build new local partnerships, and ongoing conflict, Sustain Sudan met its first-year targets and helped restore supplier confidence in a market many international providers had abandoned. Key milestones achieved to date:

Sustain Sudan supported four local agrodealers (WAS Trading Co Limited, Nutri Crop and 2 other leading agrodealers) to import agricultural inputs for the winter season.
Sustain Sudan engaged three international suppliers (Export Trading Group (ETG), AgriCo, and International Retail Materials (IRM)).
Sustain Sudan supported three shipments: Urea and DAP from Saudi Arabia, Ammonium Sulphate from Madagascar, and potato seed from the Netherlands.

Winter 2025 Imports

In its first year of implementation, Sustain Sudan project has made significant progress in keeping agricultural production moving and supporting farmers across Sudan. The project facilitated the importation of 48,500 metric tonnes of fertilizers, including urea, DAP and AmSul, alongside the importation and distribution of 5,200 metric tonnes of certified seed potato. These efforts have helped farmers access critical, quality inputs at a time when maintaining agricultural production is more important than ever.

Through these interventions, the project has directly reached an estimated 101,634 farmers, supporting the application of agricultural inputs across 214,158 hectares of farmland in 11 states. The scale of this reach is translating into tangible production outcomes, with farmers estimated to have harvested 259,200 metric tonnes of potatoes and 500,151 metric tonnes of wheat.

These achievements demonstrate how Project Sustain Sudan is sustaining livelihoods, strengthening agricultural value chains, and supporting food availability through timely access to quality inputs—helping build resilience and keep agriculture moving forward despite challenging circumstances.