Norway, FAO support Sudanese smallholders’ farmers and agro-pastoralists value chain in the face of climate change

Khartoum - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) together with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sudan and the Ministry of Agriculture conducted a three-day inception workshop of the project: ‘’ FAO Sudan smallholders and agro-pastoralists value chain support in the face of climate change’’ from 6 to 8 March.

The purpose of the workshop which gathered more than 150 participants was to provide a platform to key stakeholders – Smallholder farmers and pastoralists’ representatives, Federal and decentralized State authorities, the Norwegian Embassy, UN agencies, SMEs, Universities and Academia, NGOs, Civil Society Organizations, and others to review the project framework and develop recommendations to streamline the project design and activities to be implemented in the states of Sennar, White Nile, and Gedaref.

The Ambassador of Norway to Sudan in his opening remarks emphasized on the importance of supporting the agriculture sector and vulnerable smallholders and pastoralists to overcome their challenges to be self-reliant and produce enough food to strengthen their food and nutrition security to directly contribute to the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals including the SDGs: 2, 1,5,8,12,13,16 and 17, and indirectly to other SDGs. The project is also in line with the national plan and strategy of the government of Sudan.

Agriculture production systems and food systems in Sudan must undergo a significant transformation in order to achieve sustainability, increase food security, and respond to climate change. “In this regards the project supported by the Embassy of Norway will develop an inclusive partnership with all key stakeholders to ensure that smallholder farmers, agro-pastoralists, and pastoralists supported by the project are more resilient, more productive, more efficient more profitable, and food-secured using watershed ecosystem management and climate-smart agriculture approaches”, said Adam Yao, FAO Representative a.i in Sudan.