Floods threaten food supplies
2007-08-24 13:27
Kassala - Sudan's worst flooding in living memory is threatening food supplies in the eastern state of Kassala, says an official with the United Nations food agency.
Wegdan Abdel Rahman, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) team leader in Kassala, said: "The floods caused severe damage to the agricultural sector and this will affect food security in many dimensions."
The state bordering Eritrea was hit when River Gash burst its banks, washing away crops, ruining hundreds of wells and damaging large swathes of arable land. Agriculture was the mainstay of Kassala's economy.
According to officials, fruit and vegetables might soon be in short supply in Kassala and neighbouring states.
Officials had described this year's floods, which had killed at least 90 people across Sudan and destroyed more than 70 000 homes, as the worst in living memory.
'We've never seen anything like this'
Kassala state Agriculture Minister Majzoub Abu Moussa said the floods ruined 650 hectares prepared for planting fruit and vegetables.
Moussa said: "The farmers suffered heavy losses and many still cannot return to their farms."
Past flooding had led to deterioration in the fertility of the land. Abdel Rahman said: "The water comes with sand and not silt."
In the small village of Tamis, near the Eritrean border, farmer Ali Soliman Daffallah said the Gash submerged 260 acres of agricultural land.
He said: "We have never seen anything like this." In 2003, the level of the Gash reached 2.7 metres.
Abdul Rahim Saleh, an official with the irrigation ministry, said: "This year, it rose to more than three meters."
Some farmers were considering quitting farming, said Daffallah. FAO said it was trying to encourage them to stay.
Abdel Rahman said: "FAO is launching an appeal to secure funds for these farmers." The agency had received $300 000 so far that would be used to purchase new tools and seeds.
Some of the funds would also help repair wells that farmers used to store water for the dry season, and the irrigation system, which has collapsed as a result of the flooding.