Title: Inconsistency of food security information in Sudan

Authors: Allam Ahmed, Abdelrazig E. Mohamed, Adam E. Ahmed

Addresses: SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research, The Freeman Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QE, UK. ' Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Khartoum, Sudan. ' Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan

Abstract: Agriculture is the backbone of economic and social development in Sudan, with 80% of the population depending on agriculture and all other sectors being largely dependent on it. Food security information is the key to food security and its timely availability, reliability and usability not only averts disaster, but also leads to developments that improve people|s livelihoods (Mati, 2005). Food security information in Sudan is generated by many governmental institutions, UN agencies (WFP, FAO, IFAD, UNDP, etc.) and NGOs. This paper aims to assess the strength and weaknesses of information and data collection on food security and the existing market information system, identify gaps in the early warning system of impending food security disasters, and analyse the capacity to forecast yield and crop production and identify the gaps. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of strategic and policy implications of these findings for achieving food security in Africa.

Keywords: information; foot security; Sudan; statistics; strategy; policy; data collection; market information systems; disaster warnings; early warning; food disasters; yield forecasting; crop production forecasting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2009.021529

International Journal of Technology Management, 2009 Vol.45 No.1/2, pp.215 - 225

Published online: 30 Nov 2008 *

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