The African Development Bank Group has officially launched the cxx or BOOST, to strengthen food security, restore agricultural production and improve livelihoods in the country’s communities that are affected by conflict and climate pressures.
The programme will be delivered through a partnership of the Bank Group, the United Nations’ World Food Programme –the implementing partner – the FAO, and UN Women as well as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
The launch, held 15 September, kicked off implementation of the project which targets 232,000 smallholder farmers across 175 farmer cooperatives in Blue Nile and Sennar states. Financed from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional window, BOOST aims to address urgent food needs while building the foundations for longer-term agricultural recovery. It places particular emphasis on economic opportunities for young people and women. Further, youth-led cooperatives, agricultural small businesses and start-ups will receive support through training, finance, technology, mentorship and improved market access.
Sudan’s agriculture sector remains a critical source of food, jobs and household income, drawing on nearly 80 million hectares of arable land and more than 40% of the workforce. Yet, conflict, displacement and climate shocks have disrupted production and weakened rural livelihoods causing a heavy reliance on food imports – a reality BOOST aims to change.
During the launch event, the Bank Group’s country manager for Sudan, David Muthusi Mutuku, described the project as “an investment in food security, resilient infrastructure, enterprise and opportunity for Sudan’s women and young people. By targeting women and youth with improved skills, access to finance, technology and market, BOOST will help Sudanese move from seeking opportunities to creating enterprises and jobs themselves,” Mutuku added.
BOOST is expected to improve production across 1.16 million hectares, and yield more than 980,000 tonnes of agricultural produce, valued at an estimated $468 million, a roughly overall 25% productivity increase. The increased production will strengthen local food availability and raise farmer incomes. The project will also distribute more than 1.2 million air-tight storage bags to more than 200,000 farmers.
The programme will also reduce post-harvest losses by 20-25 per cent by rehabilitating and equipping 140 community-managed storage and processing facilities, helping families retain and sell more produce into local markets.
Farmers are expected to gain increased access to climate-resilient seed systems, improved technologies and more sustainable production methods.
“This partnership is about more than agriculture,” said Abdallah Alwardat, WFP’s Sudan Country Director. “It is about changing the trajectory from humanitarian dependence to resilience, from vulnerability to self-reliance, and ultimately from growing to eat to growing to sell.”
BOOST builds on the Bank Group’s wider support for Sudan’s agricultural recovery, including the Sudan Emergency Wheat Production Project Phase II, which WFP is also implementing. That project had reached 86,585 farmers and distributed more than 18,000 tonnes of certified seed and fertiliser as of March 2026.
The launch event was proceeded by a three-day implementation workshop to ensure timely project delivery.