Wartime home and neighbourhood gardens in Omdurman, Khartoum State, Sudan

After the fighting that began in April 2023 brought food shortages and soaring prices, residents around Omdurman in Khartoum State turned yards and neighbourhood squares into vegetable plots. They grow onions, okra, aubergine, mallow, pumpkin and other vegetables alongside lemon and mango trees, for their own households and their neighbours — and part of the produce goes to the communal kitchens (takaya) that feed the capital.

Residents turn spare space at home into small plots, growing vegetables and fruit for their own households and their neighbours. In one Omdurman neighbourhood a group of young people planted the square with vegetables and sent the harvest to residents and to the communal kitchens (takaya). Growing knowledge is passed down within families and picked up at agricultural exhibitions.

Mainly for household consumption, with any surplus shared or sold locally; in the Karari neighbourhood some residents make a living selling what their home plots produce. No public seed-distribution or funding scheme could be verified.

In a capital region where supply chains broke down, the gardens have become a way for residents to secure their own food. No statistics on household numbers, planted area or output are published, so the scale is unknown. Across Sudan, 25.6 million people were reported to be facing acute hunger as of August 2024.

Residents use their own yards plus vacant land and squares in the neighbourhood as an emergency response during the war.

Web articles and features that cover this case.

• ArticleFeature: Sudanese turn to home farming for survival, livelihood amid war（新華社、2024年8月26日） ↗english.news.cn
• ArticleHome Gardening: Sudan's Gateway to Self-sufficiency（Sudanow Magazine、2025年3月2日） ↗sudanow-magazine.net