Khartoum, 5 August 2026 (SUNA) – The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) officially launched its Capacity-Building Program for Sudan’s Agricultural Sector at its headquarters in Khartoum on Wednesday, in the presence of Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Professor Ismat Gurashi, Minister of Animal Resources and Fisheries Professor Ahmed Al-Tijani Al-Mansouri, AOAD Director General Professor Ibrahim El-Dukheri, Sudanese Agricultural Bank Director General Salah Abdelrahim, and representatives of a number of relevant institutions and stakeholders. Speaking at the launch ceremony, AOAD Director General Professor Ibrahim El-Dukheri described the initiative as a comprehensive platform for institutional and technological transformation, aimed at strengthening the human, institutional, and organizational capacities of Sudan’s agricultural sector to accelerate sustainable agricultural development and support the sector’s structural transformation.He explained that the program will provide integrated technical support across all components of the agricultural system, including policy development, institutional strengthening, natural and human resource management, production systems, and agricultural value chains. Professor El-Dukheri added that the program focuses on enhancing productivity, competitiveness, and resilience in strategic crop production and the livestock sector by promoting the transfer and indigenization of modern technologies, accelerating digital transformation, and advancing the adoption of climate-smart agriculture and precision agriculture. The initiative also seeks to foster innovation, institutionalize evidence-based planning and decision-making, and strengthen the managerial, operational, and entrepreneurial capacities of farmers, technical and extension personnel, and agribusiness institutions, enabling them to lead modernization and development efforts across Sudan’s agricultural sector.BH/BH