The Union of Farmers in the irrigated sector of Sudan’s White Nile State threatened not to plant crops this year because they don’t have enough funds from the Agricultural Bank.

Several farmers in the state told Radio Tamazuj yesterday that the Agricultural Bank changed its policies, resulting in diminished funds.

They said the new policies came up when the costs of preparing land have risen considerably and markets are witnessing a significant rise in crop prices.

Ali Rahma, a farmer in White Nile, noted they met with the bank’s management over the issue, but did not receive a positive response.

“We talked about the limited funding allocated to the farmers amid soaring costs of agricultural inputs such as seeds and agricultural machines as well as fuel,” he explained.

The farmers warned the Agricultural Bank its policies will negatively affect the agriculture season and threatened to refrain from cultivating if the bank denied funding.