Minister calls for food precautions

Special precautions have been adopted to try and increase food supplies in Sudan, said Minister of Agriculture Abd-al-Hamid Musa Kasha. The minister told the press that precautions included a special work plan aimed at increasing the productivity of cereals through irrigated schemes, and purchasing strategic food reserves. Northern Darfur and Northern Kordofan in western Sudan were affected by low rainfall, as well as other areas, said the minister. He called on the government to give due concern in the second presidency mandate to rehabilitate irrigation schemes, and to finance agricultural operations to improve food security, said the official news agency SUNA. Humanitarian sources told IRIN that food needs in Sudan would increase “significantly” in the coming year, and that there were fears of a “looming crisis”, particularly in the south.