Tawila, July 27 (Darfur24)
Residents of Tawila in North Darfur State have expressed growing concern that delayed rainfall could jeopardise this year’s agricultural season, raising fears of worsening food insecurity in an area hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
Tawila, one of Sudan’s largest displacement hubs, currently shelters more than 706,000 internally displaced people, most of whom fled fighting in El Fasher.
Several residents told Darfur24 that the late onset of the rainy season has left farmers increasingly anxious about crop failure, threatening the main source of food and income for many households.
They said most parts of Tawila locality received early rains last year, allowing farmers to cultivate their land and helping improve food availability for vulnerable communities and displaced families.
Zakaria Issa, a farmer from Tawila, told Darfur24 that concern is widespread among farmers because rainfall has yet to begin.
He said most residents, particularly those living in Tawila, depend on farming, as humanitarian assistance provided by aid agencies is insufficient to meet their needs.
“As we approach August, the continued absence of rain has deepened our fears about the success of this year’s agricultural season,” he said.
Similar concerns were expressed by returnees in the Tabra and Kona areas, west of Tawila and north of Jebel Marra.
Halima Musa, a farmer from Tabra, told Darfur24 that farmers had prepared their fields early for the planting season but had been met with an unusually long delay in rainfall.
She said returnees in Tabra and neighbouring villages north of Jebel Marra rely heavily on agriculture because they receive only limited humanitarian assistance compared with displaced people living in camps in Tawila.
Farmers and agricultural experts have warned that delayed rains across large parts of Darfur and Kordofan, combined with the ongoing conflict and rising production costs, threaten this year’s harvest and could further deepen Sudan’s food security crisis.