The flicker of a light bulb and unstable electricity supply have become a source of growing anxiety for farmers in Sudan’s Northern State, signaling the shutdown of water pumps and, with them, the lifeline of their crops.
Under the scorching sun, farmers watch helplessly as drought threatens their agricultural projects—not because of a lack of water, but because the electricity needed to deliver it to the soil has become increasingly unreliable.
Speaking with concern and uncertainty about the future, farmer Al-Hadi Mahdi described the gravity of the situation: “If the electricity fluctuation crisis is not resolved quickly and effectively, we will soon reach a point of no return.”
For Al-Hadi, the issue extends far beyond the loss of a single field or harvest season. He explained, “The economy operates as a cycle. If we lose alfalfa crops because of water shortages, livestock prices will automatically rise, and consequently food prices will increase for citizens who are already struggling.”
The crisis did not emerge by chance; rather, it is one of the many consequences of the ongoing war.
In this context, Northern State Minister of Production and Economic Resources, Othman Ahmed Othman, shed light on the deeper dimensions of the problem.
He explained that the current difficulties stem from repeated attacks on Sudan’s energy and electricity infrastructure by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the past three years. These attacks have left the national power grid in a state of chronic instability and pushed some of the country’s largest agricultural projects to the brink of collapse.
Abdel Halim Saleh, Chairman of the Board of the government-run Al-Ghaba Agricultural Project, described the devastating impact on farmers: “Many farmers have lost their most valuable assets. Date palm and fruit crops that took years to grow have died standing from thirst.”
