Beth Bechdol (FAO) on the protection of civilians…

"Mr President,Members of the Security Council,Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to brief on the deeply concerning situation in the Sudan.
The latest reports on food security are the worst in the country's history.
Before I share with you the discouraging details of the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, let me remind Council Members that over the last 15 years, only four Famines have been confirmed: Somalia in 2011; South Sudan in 2017 and 2020; and now Sudan in 2024.
And as we have learned from these extreme crises, tens of thousands of deaths have already occurred before any famine was classified.
In August of last year, Famine was classified in Zamzam camp in Sudan's North Darfur state… and it persists and has expanded.
The independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) concluded in late December that:

• between October and November 2024, famine conditions persisted in the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), and expanded to other sites in North Darfur, as well as to the Western Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan state; and
• from last month until May 2025, five additional areas are projected to face Famine conditions, with a confirmed risk of famine in 17 more areas.

The latest IPC analysis shows that half of the population analyzed – or 24.6 million people – are facing acute food insecurity levels.

This is 3.5 million more people since June 2024.
Today, 15.9 million people are in IPC 3 – Crisis; 8.1 million in IPC 4 – Emergency; and just over 637,000 in IPC 5 – Catastrophe.
Conflict and forced displacement remain the primary drivers of this crisis, exacerbated by restricted humanitarian access. Sustained violence and economic turmoil have disrupted markets, displaced 11.5 million people – becoming the world's largest internal displacement crisis – and driven prices of staple goods to unaffordable levels.
Nearly two-thirds of the Sudanese population depend on agriculture.
The primary crops grown are sorghum, millet and wheat. During the first year of the conflict – the 2023/24 season – production of these crops was 4.1 million tonnes … this was a 46 percent reduction from the previous year. 
This production loss could have fed approximately 18 million people for a year and represented an economic loss between 1.3 and 1.7 billion USD.
Production of other minor crops such as sesame, sunflowers, groundnuts and cotton was well below average too.
The low availability and high prices of inputs also significantly impacted both planted and harvested areas, as well as yields.
Then, the 2023 rainy season was erratic with dry spells reported in key-producing areas, further constraining yields.
And, soon harvest will begin for the 2024/25 season. Yet hunger and malnutrition are escalating when food availability should be at its highest.
Conflict and mass displacement have resulted in abandoned or devastated farmland and infrastructure, significantly disrupting local food production.Excellencies,
We must take urgent action to address the famine in Sudan.
The UN Security Council has a critical role, reaffirmed through Resolution 2417.
The risk of Famine and its spread has been on our collective conscience since August.
And, now it is here … not only with people dying from hunger but also with a breakdown of health systems, livelihoods and social structures … leaving irreversible consequences that can last for generations.
There are a few actions that deserve prioritizing and require your support:

• FIRST … We need your political leverage to end hostilities and to bring relief to the people of the Sudan. They urgently need food, water, shelter, medication and life-saving emergency agricultural assistance … today… and not tomorrow.
• SECOND … We echo the calls from our UN and other partners including OCHA, WFP, and UNICEF for immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access.
• It is crucial to safely reopen commercial supply routes to address current shortfalls in key hunger hotspots.
• THIRD … We need to deliver multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance. While scaling up food, water, and cash assistance is vital, this alone cannot address the full scope of the hunger crisis.

Ensuring local food production through emergency agricultural support is critical to building resilience and preventing further humanitarian catastrophe.
Sorghum output was 3 million tonnes; millet was 683,542 tonnes; and wheat was 377,900 tonnes. 
When farmers can access land and inputs, they will produce food.
Last year, FAO's agricultural interventions had an impact …

• Over 2.7 million people in 11 states received more than 5,000 tonnes of sorghum and millet seeds, with okra seeds prioritized for IDP camps.
• Nearly 600,000 agro-pastoral households benefited from livestock vaccinations, feed, and veterinary services to protect animals – a vital source of nutrition and income.

However, challenges remain:

• Heightened security risks for transportation providers hinder access to vulnerable communities; and
• Funding gaps remain misaligned with the agricultural calendar, limiting our ability to act at the most critical times.

In this coming year, we aim to scale up our response to reach 14.2 million people—farmers, livestock herders, and fishermen and women—with the seeds, livestock feed and fishing supplies they need to produce their own nutritious food.
Emergency agricultural support in Sudan must be prioritized. No one affected by the conflict—whether in an IDP camp or their home community—wants to depend on food aid.They want to provide for their families and reclaim their dignity. Delaying this support risks deepening food insecurity.
And, let's be honest … resources for traditional humanitarian responses are shrinking.Agricultural support is a cost-effective, sustainable way to meet immediate needs while helping rebuild.
If we fail to act now, collectively, and at scale, millions of lives are even further at risk, and Mr President, as you and Council Members know all too well, so is the stability of many nations in the region.
Thank you for this opportunity to brief the Council and reaffirm our dedication to the people of Sudan".