The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched an Emergency Livelihood Response Plan to address growing food insecurity in Sudan, it said on Monday.

Since the outbreak of war on April 15 in Africa's third biggest country by area, 2.5 million people have been displaced, generating a humanitarian crisis and threatening to destabilise the region.

The plan builds on FAO’s work to address extreme vulnerabilities triggered by the ongoing conflict on small-scale farming, herding and fishing communities, it said in a statement. 

The initiative also complements FAO’s recently completed emergency seed distribution campaign, which helped farmers maximize cereal production, avoid depletion of assets and promote seed diversification, the UN agency said. 

The expected production will contribute to meet the cereal needs of at least 13 million and up to 19 million people for the upcoming 2023 harvest, it said.  

“Millions of people across the Sudan are facing a battle for survival as the food security crisis worsens”, said Hongjie Yang, FAO Representative in the Sudan.  

“This emergency response plan aims to provide farming, herding and fishing families with the basics they need to keep production going and feed themselves and their communities.”

FAO last month warned about the severity of the escalating food crisis in the Sudan. 

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase projections, over 20.3 million people, representing more than 42% of the population in the country, are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity between July and September 2023, nearly double the figure from May 2022, FAO said. 

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )