Food Security Framework | Hazards

• Drought: There are several different ecological zones in Sudan with rainfall levels varying from less than 100 mm in the northern desert to over 700mm in the savanna. Drought has affected Sudan since the late 1960s. Prior to this time, drought tended to be localized with limited effects. Major successive droughts began in the 1960s. Sudan continues to be affected by the long-term effects of major droughts, desert encroachment, and desertification.
• Floods: In Sudan, flooding is responsible for soil degradation along the Nile River and in parts of eastern, central, and western Sudan. Flood normally occurs during June-September. Floods hinder cropping and cause severe riverbank erosion (haddam). Floods and drought sometimes occur during the same year, e.g., drought between June-August, and flooding from September onwards, or sometimes drought at the beginning of the season and then flooding later in lowland areas. The impact of floods is different across livelihood zones and also depends on timing.
• Seasonal pest infestation and diseases outbreak: Pest infestations (including desert locusts, grasshoppers, and kwela kwela) and outbreak of diseases, mainly in the traditional rainfed sector, is one of the major hazards for food production.
• Cattle raids: Cattle raiding on farms before harvest time has escalated during the conflict in Darfur. This is considered as part of the dispute over land by pastoralists and farmers. Though some disarmament efforts have been made, there is increased vulnerability to raids among disarmed groups. Typical cattle raiding months are January-April as communities move and graze in dry season areas, and also during May-June when livestock return to graze near homes.
• Armed attacks: Armed militia and attacks by the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) continue to pose hazards throughout the year. The most affected areas are in Western Equatoria of South Sudan.
• Potential for emerging urban vulnerability: There are growing concerns about poverty in urban areas due to massive migration from rural areas to urban areas due to drought, insecurity, and the collapse of irrigated schemes in central Sudan (e.g. Jazeera scheme and White Nile).