Sudan farmers face debtors’ jail after failed winter season

Report by Suleiman Siri for Radio Dabanga

At least 175 farmers in the area of Abri in Sudan’s Northern State face imprisonment for defaulting on bank loans following failed winter harvest, largely blamed on frequent power outages, in an area where farmers are largely dependant on electric power for agriculture and livestock activities. The residents of the Abri area rely heavily on electricity for their agricultural and livestock production projects, but frequent power outages have caused significant losses for farmers.

Abri is experiencing a state of anticipation and caution following a lull in security tensions after the recent unrest. The tensions stemmed from power outages and peaceful protests by residents, prompting authorities to deploy forces from the Wadi Halfa and Dongola localities (the state capital), as well as the arrival of forces known as “Abu Tira.” Simultaneously, authorities have begun collecting weapons from those who were mobilized and from the popular resistance committees.

Local sources in the town of Abri told Radio Dabanga that authorities have begun collecting weapons and vehicles belonging to the mobilised forces as a precautionary measure, fearing they might side with the local population, given their shared origins in the area. Meanwhile, the forces brought in from the Wadi Halfa and Dongola localities have returned to their bases after dispersing the protests and suppressing the demonstrators.

Wide sectors of the resistance committees and civil society organisations condemned the police suppression of peaceful demonstrations in Abri, the firing of tear gas, the raiding of residential neighbourhoods, the pursuit of protesters inside homes, the assault on women and children, and the arrest of large numbers of them.

The statement issued by the Resistance Committees, known as the “Shield of Silence,” considered the attacks and violations against members of the public who came out demanding their most basic rights as an attempt to intimidate them, stressing that it will not break the will of the people of Silence, that their movement is peaceful, and that the escalation will continue until the voices of the public are heard and their just demands are met.

Power outages

Youth activist Fadel Shibli believes that power outages affect infants and newborns, as well as those with chronic illnesses like diabetes, particularly in storing medications such as insulin. Furthermore, the soaring price of a gas cylinder, which has reached 1200 Egyptian pounds, has forced families to rely on electricity for cooking.

He says that the government of the Northern State was relying on electricity from the Merowe Dam before it was targeted by the Rapid Support Forces with drones, which prompted it to redistribute electricity coming from Egypt to a number of other localities, including Dongola, Dalgo, El Barqiq, El Dabba, and even Merowe, which led to an increase in the hours of power cuts in Abri during the last months, especially before the end of the winter agricultural season, where the periods of power cuts exceeded six hours a day.

He points out that the greatest impact of the power cuts was seen in the damage inflicted on the agricultural sector, stressing that agricultural and livestock production projects depend entirely on electricity as the lifeblood of the industry.

He confirms that the continuous power outages directly caused the failure of the winter season, and inflicted heavy losses on farmers who obtained financing from the Agricultural Bank on the basis of repayment after the harvest, but they are now facing insolvency.

175 people face imprisonment

Civil activist Fadel Shibli explains that there are at least 175 reports against farmers in Abri due to their inability to repay bank loans, which may expose them to imprisonment or confiscation of their property, as a result of the failure of the winter season due to power outages.

He notes that Wadi Halfa receives a stable 24-hour electricity supply, along with the mining areas, while Abri suffers from outages of up to 12 hours compared to only six hours of supply.

He added: “The public have been patient enough, as they came out of the agricultural season with losses, and they are now threatened with notices from the banks and the loss of their property, so what is left for them other than to protest?”

He says that the public in Abri acted consciously and did not resort to protesting until they had exhausted all means of communication with officials, as they had reached the conviction that there were no serious solutions, which prompted them to escalate peacefully.

The residents of the area contacted the director of the administrative unit in Abri through an official delegation, but he stated that the issue was beyond his jurisdiction and advised them to be patient. The delegation then approached the executive director of the Wadi Halfa locality, but without any tangible results. This prompted them to contact the electricity authority and the state governor, but all attempts proved unsuccessful.

Shibli says that the executive director pledged to travel to Dongola to meet with the governor and electricity officials, and it was agreed that the delegation would accompany him, but he travelled without notifying them, in clear violation of the agreement.

He also pointed to another incident in which the deputy executive director promised to arrange a visit for the delegation to Dongola, but did not respond to their subsequent communications.

The electricity company denies any knowledge of the matter.

Shibli adds that the delegation met with the Minister of Urban Planning in Dongola, who contacted officials of the electricity company, but they denied knowing about the problem in Abri, despite promising to carry out technical solutions, which were not implemented later.

It concludes that there are no serious indications of a solution to the crisis, which has led to escalating public anger and the emergence of peaceful protests.

He accused the authorities of using excessive force, firing tear gas, and causing injuries among protesters, including children. He also noted that criminal charges were filed before the detainees were released on bail.

Civil leader Ramzi El Masri believes that the protests came as a result of long-standing grievances, stressing that the residents offered solutions, including allocating electricity to farmers during the day and operating mining activities at night.

He explained that Hebrew consumption amounts to about 6 megawatts, while mining activities consume about 4 megawatts, which calls for a fair redistribution.

Electricity essential for life

El Masri stressed that electricity is the foundation of life in the region, especially with agriculture relying on it almost entirely, given the high fuel prices.

He said: “We are not looking for electricity for luxury, but for life, as our agriculture depends on it completely.”

He also pointed out that small farmers are unable to provide alternatives such as solar energy, which threatens their livelihood.

The Egyptian held the local authorities fully responsible, criticizing what he described as procrastination and lack of seriousness, stressing that the situation is likely to escalate if the crisis is not addressed quickly.

He called for an urgent and fair solution to the electricity crisis in Abri and the Sukkot areas.