Sudan’s BOOST Project Targets 232,000 Farmers to Rebuild Food Security

Women and young people will receive particular attention through support that connects agricultural skills with opportunities to earn a living and create enterprises.

Sudanese farming communities facing conflict and climate pressures are the focus of a newly launched African Development Bank Group project designed to restore agricultural production, strengthen food security and rebuild livelihoods. The Boosting Agrifood Systems Resilience in Sudan programme, known as BOOST, targets 232,000 smallholder farmers across 175 cooperatives in Blue Nile and Sennar states, combining support for urgent food needs with investment in longer-term agricultural recovery.

The launch on 15 September marked the start of implementation, with financing from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional financing window. The World Food Programme (WFP) will serve as implementing partner, working through a partnership involving the Bank Group, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Women and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.

Helping Farmers Restore Production and Income

Agriculture remains central to Sudan's food supply, employment and household earnings, with the country possessing nearly 80 million hectares of arable land and the sector employing more than 40% of its workforce. Conflict, displacement and climate shocks have disrupted production and weakened rural livelihoods, leaving the country heavily reliant on food imports despite its agricultural resources.

BOOST is expected to improve production across 1.16 million hectares and generate more than 980,000 tonnes of agricultural produce, valued at an estimated $468 million, with an overall productivity increase of roughly 25%. Farmers will receive greater access to climate-resilient seed systems, improved technologies and more sustainable production methods, supporting harvests that can increase local food availability and raise household incomes.

Giving Women and Young People Tools to Build Businesses

Women and young people will receive particular attention through support that connects agricultural skills with opportunities to earn a living and create enterprises. Youth-led cooperatives, agricultural small businesses and start-ups will have access to training, finance, technology, mentorship and stronger market connections, addressing several of the practical needs involved in building a viable business.

David Muthusi Mutuku, the Bank Group's Country Manager for Sudan, described BOOST as "an investment in food security, resilient infrastructure, enterprise and opportunity for Sudan's women and young people." He said improved skills and access to finance, technology and markets would help Sudanese people create enterprises and jobs themselves, placing their capacity to build businesses at the centre of the project's approach to recovery.

Protecting Harvests and Moving Towards Self-Reliance

More than 1.2 million airtight storage bags will be distributed to over 200,000 farmers, supported by the rehabilitation and equipping of 140 community-managed storage and processing facilities. The programme is expected to reduce post-harvest losses by 20–25%, helping families retain more of what they grow and sell more produce in local markets, where damaged or poorly stored crops would otherwise represent lost food and income.

"This partnership is about more than agriculture," said Abdallah Alwardat, WFP's Sudan Country Director, describing a shift from humanitarian dependence towards resilience and self-reliance. His message connected the project's production and storage investments with a broader change in farmers' prospects, moving from growing enough to eat towards producing crops they can also sell.

BOOST builds on the Bank Group's wider agricultural recovery work, including the Sudan Emergency Wheat Production Project Phase II, which WFP is also implementing. That project had reached 86,585 farmers and distributed more than 18,000 tonnes of certified seed and fertiliser by March 2026, providing a foundation of support for producers facing severe disruption. A three-day implementation workshop accompanied the BOOST launch preparations to support timely delivery.