What are the alternatives to the residents of El -Fasher to obtain food in light of the siege? | policy

Al-Fasher- In the first class district of Al -Fasher, west of Sudan, and between the walls of a humble house, Suleiman Abdullah Suleiman (30 years) stare in a small field that he planted with his hands inside the courtyard of his house, extending his hand to pick up a bambrobe that matured under the autumn sun, then bends to inspect the roots of the atom that began to sway with the light winds.

“We were planting to live, and today we reap to resist, this small land has become our weapon in the face of hunger and the siege,” Suleiman says to Al -Jazeera Net, and he refers to the ranks of green plants, “We did not know much about agriculture, but the need taught us, and the siege forced us to plant hope before we plant the seeds.”

“Survival cultivation”

Since June 10, 2024, the city of El Fasher has lived under a suffocating siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces, which resulted in isolating hundreds of thousands of civilians from the outside world. The roads leading to the city were completely closed, food supplies stopped, and humanitarian aid prevented, while starvation is used as a pressure tool to force the population to displace the west.

In light of this reality, the residents found no choice but to rely on themselves, and household agriculture turned into a way to survive, as the residents began to grow the seeds available in the technique of homes, using rainwater and organic fertilizers of animal remains.

A spokesman for the popular resistance, Abu Bakr Ahmed Imam, told Al -Jazeera Net that dozens of homes in Al -Fasher have turned, at the beginning of this fall, into small fields in which the inhabitants, tomatoes and corn were planted.

He added, “Agriculture was not a hobby, but rather a means of resistance in the face of the siege, and an alternative mesh network amid a complete absence of aid,” and continued, saying, “The backyard has become a market, the rain is a resource, and the solidarity is what keeps us alive.”

According to local activists, the percentage of dependence on domestic agriculture is estimated among the trapped population in the city of El -Fasher by about 60%, which was extracted from a field survey conducted by relief teams in a number of western neighborhoods of the city, such as the first degree and the extension of the Abu Shuk neighborhood.

Activists note that more than a thousand homes in those neighborhoods may turn into agricultural areas, where the residents of the interior technicians, or the abandoned houses that their owners left during the last waves of displacement.

Simple crops such as okra, corn, molokhia, beans, and dazzling are cultivated in spaces, and they depend on rain water and local organic fertilizer, so that this agriculture turns from a secondary activity to a major food source, despite its limited production.

“Despite the absence of accurate estimates of the amount of production, it is barely sufficient to cover the daily consumption of families, without a surplus of storage,” added to Al -Jazeera Net, adding, “What is planted today is eaten tomorrow, it is the cultivation of survival, not the cultivation of production.”

Deserted houses

As it was not possible to reach agricultural lands outside the city due to the siege and insecurity, the residents were forced to exploit all the spaces available within residential neighborhoods, including the abandoned homes that their owners left during the recent wave of displacement.

These homes, which were witnessing loss and departure, have today turned into small fields where vegetables and corn are grown, in a desperate attempt to secure the minimum food.

Speaking to Al -Jazeera Net, Fatima Abdullah Mansour, who is displaced from Zamzam camp and resides in the Al -Sahafa neighborhood, said that she planted 3 deserted houses this year, with the aim of providing her family’s food needs.

“I planted okra, molokhia and beans in a house, and the aggressor and millet in another, we are planting wherever we find a good land, even if it is deserted or threatened with collapse,” she added.

Limited alternatives

In light of the siege, and besides household agriculture, the city’s residents depend on a limited group of food alternatives, after supplies stopped and humanitarian aid was cut off, and daily life turned into a battle for survival, and among the most prominent of these alternatives:

• Local Takia: It is organized by local relief teams within the neighborhoods, and the provision of free group meals, and despite the limited resources, these tanks have become a daily haven for many families who lost their income sources.
• Limit Livestock Limited: It is limited to lamb and goats that were brought from Zamzam camp, and some villages during the last invasion, and they are raised inside the houses, but their prices are very high, as the price of one lamb ranges between one million to 3 million Sudanese pounds, while it is noted that a complete absence of camels and cows, as well as chicken and bathroom.
• Tellet (ownership plant): It is one of the widespread wild plants in Darfur and grows in the autumn, and is known for its good taste and nutritional benefits. The leaves are chosen and washed well, then placed inside (capacity) and added a little water and salt to it, left on the fire for a short time until it is cooked and keeps its natural flavor.
• “Ambaz” feed: In a scene that reflects the depth of the crisis, the animal feed known locally as “ampk” turned into a food alternative consumed as a meal by the population, as it is boiled and mixed with the atom to provide a saturated meal, despite its lack of basic nutrients.

“We live a day by day”

“We used to use the miles as feed, and today we eat it, boil it and mix it with the atom, because there is nothing else,” he added, and he added, “We have not completely salt the table, but we are trying to adapt, we eat what is available, not what we want.”

Despite the repeated appeals, no humanitarian aid has reached the city since the siege began, and Abkar confirms that international organizations are unable to reach El -Fasher, and that the food situation has become disastrous.

“What is happening in El -Fasher is not just a crisis, but a complete collapse of the life system, people are grown in homes because they do not have another option, but this is not enough, water is scarce, fertilizers are not available, and diseases are now spreading due to malnutrition.”

In light of the continuation of the siege, there does not seem to be close to it, although the population depends on themselves, they know that home agriculture is not a permanent solution.

“We are planting to live a day by day, but we do not know what will happen tomorrow, if the rain stops, or the seeds are over, so what will we do?”