Sudan bank targets financing 30,000 feddans of winter wheat

The Ed Dueim branch of Sudan’s Agricultural Bank said it was ready to finance wheat planting on 30,000 feddans in northern White Nile State during the coming winter season. Bank manager Babiker Omar Ahmed Mustafa announced the target on 23 October at a meeting with representatives of the state’s wheat-localization unit. Financing is scheduled to begin on 1 November.

The bank plans to use the agricultural pre-financing arrangement known as salam. Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported a financing value of 350,000 Sudanese pounds per bag of wheat. The source does not state the bag weight, credit per unit of planted area or total size of the financing portfolio; total financing therefore cannot be calculated from the quoted bag price.

The manager said the targeted area could increase if farmers show interest and meet the financing-guarantee requirements. The programme was described as open to investors and individual producers under the bank’s established financing rules. The 30,000 feddans are thus the area the bank says it is prepared to support, not completed planting or confirmed disbursement.

The meeting covered preparations for financing the winter season and challenges facing wheat cultivation. The state’s wheat-localization unit is working on season preparation, identifying production constraints and addressing them to expand planted area and yields. SUNA said the unit was formed in October and would coordinate its state-level work with the central wheat-localization unit.

The bank manager said the institution had previously financed some farmers to introduce alternative energy in irrigation systems. The measure was described as support for production and the coming winter season; the source gave no number of solar installations, capacity or irrigated area. The manager also reported that repayment rates for financing during 2024 and 2025 were 100%.

The announcement sets out a local bank’s target for financing food production and winter wheat planting in Sudan. It does not give the programme’s total cost, participating farmer count, seed or fertilizer supply, or expected wheat output. Without later implementation data, the target area cannot be treated as realized production.

The announcement does not show how the targeted area would translate into expected output. The bank manager said the area could increase depending on farmer interest and guarantee requirements, but disclosed no application count, approved loans, responsibility for seed and other inputs, or expected yield. The 30,000 feddans are the initial target the bank said it was ready to finance; they are not equivalent to a harvest volume.

The financing target does not show that planting has taken place or that the wider winter-season plan is fully funded. The report does not detail seed, fertilizer, irrigation inputs or loan repayment terms. The 100% repayment figure for prior years is attributed to the bank manager; the statement does not explain its calculation or whether it applies only to this branch or a wider portfolio.

Because the announcement gives neither total credit for the 30,000 feddans nor an output target, the area figure cannot stand in for those results.