Transforming Sudan’s Agricultural Sector: A Post-Conflict Platform for Sustainable Growth

The paper was authored by the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), an organisation dedicated to enhancing agricultural development and food security in Arab countries. AOAD collaborates with governments, international organisations, and local communities to promote sustainable agricultural practices and socio-economic development. Purpose: This paper addresses agricultural recovery in post-conflict Sudan, focusing on revitalising rural livelihoods and food security through inclusive, digitally integrated approaches that bring key stakeholders to jointly address the transformation of the agri-food systems for efficiency and effectiveness, especially among smallholder farmers who constitute the bulk of farming communities. Design/Methodology/Approach: The approach or the model emphasises collaboration among public institutions, private enterprises, civil society, and research organisations and many service providers to the farming community. It focuses on both financial and non-financial services that farmers need to transform the sector and this includes skill development, co-operative organisation, and knowledge dissemination, supported by digital financial services and regional service hubs to shift farmers toward market-oriented agriculture. Findings: Establishing decentralised hubs and digital platforms effectively addresses critical transformational issues like gaps in finance, gap in technical/institutional knowledge, and market connectivity, significantly enhancing agricultural productivity and resilience building of smallholder farmers. Originality/Value: The paper’s novel integration of digital tools, financial inclusion, and co-operative organisation presents a replicable model aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), beneficial to policy-makers and practitioners in similar post-crisis agricultural contexts. Keywords: Post-Conflict Recovery; Agri-Food Systems; Agricultural Transformation; Financial Inclusion; Food Security; Sudan; Smallholder Farmers; Sustainable Development. Citation: El-Dhukeri, I. and Alfakih, A. (2025): Transforming Sudan’s Agricultural Sector: A Post-Conflict Platform for Sustainable Growth. International Journal of Sudan Research (IJSR), Vol 12, No. 1, pp.89-102.