The funding will support the Boosting Agrifood Systems Resilience Project, a programme with an estimated total cost of about $100 million. The Bank’s concessional financing window, the African Development Fund, will provide $87 million, while in‑kind support valued at about $12.3 million will be provided by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Food Programme, UN Women, and the CGIAR International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre.
Approved on April 22, BOOST is designed to increase food production and availability while expanding agribusiness opportunities for women and young people. Implementation will focus on key agricultural areas, including Blue Nile, Sennar and Kassala, regions that host large numbers of displaced people and remain central to the national food supply.
Under the project, farmers will receive improved seeds and access to climate‑smart technologies aimed at raising yields, closing supply gaps and reducing dependence on food imports. The project will also invest in storage and processing capacity and support better market access to cut post‑harvest losses and improve household incomes.
Targeted support will be provided to women and youth through access to finance, skills development and digital tools to help build and grow agribusinesses.
BOOST is expected to benefit more than 1.2 million people, including more than 232 000 farming households, with a strong focus on women and young people. The programme is also projected to create tens of thousands of jobs, both directly and indirectly, supporting recovery in fragile communities.
The AfDB said the financing will be drawn from undisbursed resources from previously cancelled operations, allowing rapid redirection of funding to urgent national priorities.
AfDB Country Manager for Sudan David Muthusi Mutuku said the project aims to deliver practical support at a time of profound hardship, helping farmers rebuild livelihoods, enabling women and youth to create businesses, and strengthening resilience in communities under severe strain.
–AfDB/ChannelAfrica–
