Food basket of the world!

The government is still focused on long-term solutions for the country’s economy, to overcome the current strangulating crisis endured by its people. The promised long-term solution basically hinges on an overoptimistic tripartite program that represents a duplication of oft-repeated promises by previous regimes, none of which came to fruition. The region has previously pledged to render Sudan the food basket of the world and the end result is that we became a country that ekes out a living on the alms of international aid organizations.

The government has been focusing on the tripartite program which it says will create a revolution in agriculture to boost the country’s exports. This same pledge was repeated during the past years under catchphrases such as Al Nafra (call for collective work) and Al Nahda (revival) whose fruits were a big naught. Agricultural production continued to decline, year after year, until we finally reached the stage of a “food gap”; a delicate name for famine which the government conveniently renamed in an attempt to tackles the crisis by words rather than action!

Yesterday, I mentioned in this space that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and northern state ministry of agriculture warned that the agriculture season faces real danger posed by enormous numbers of locusts. According to reports, the situation is spiraling out of control, and rising numbers of swarms could follow the course of the Nile and move inland. Swarms were even spotted today in the capital, Khartoum!

While facing these challenges, the state -unfortunately- is still steering its meager resources to run wars over vast areas. Expenditure on war will ultimately consume these resources; taking into account the fact that spending on war cannot be mitigated or rationed.

Political balancing acts also force the state to create a flabby structure to accommodate all those seeking power and appease tribes and clans to achieve a "broad base" by creating redundant jobs to win their allegiance, further squandering resources.  

The above clearly reflects the numerous aspects of the crisis. This ailment is past the sedative stage. The only way to revive the vital agricultural sector is to spend more on it to - at least- become self-sufficient. Meanwhile, the government can add “Much ado about nothing” and “Actions speak louder than words” to its repertoire of proverbs and slogans.