Rome — Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Abu-Bakr Omar, addressed the General Sitting of the Fifth-Second Session of the Committee on World Food Security in Rome on Monday.

The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry reviewed, in his speech, the systematic destruction of infrastructure, focusing on production areas, livelihoods, and gene banks of plant and animal assets, and the ongoing threat to natural resources and biodiversity by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and its supporters from regional and international parties, and their insistence on prolonging the war with the aim of plundering the capabilities and impoverishing the Sudanese people, explaining that the rebel RSF militia has continued during the past eighteen months to commit the most heinous crimes and violations against the Sudanese people, using starvation as a weapon of war, explaining that the areas that suffer from severe food insecurity are those that fall under the control and siege of the Rapid Support Forces militia.

The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry explained that production of major crops is sufficient according to the indicators of the current season's harvest and cultivated areas, refuting allegations of famine in Sudan, urging the international community and donors to provide more urgent technical support to make the agricultural season a success, calling for condemning the violations committed by the rebel RSF militia, stressing the Sudanese government's commitment to international humanitarian law and its quest to reach a just peace in order to achieve agricultural and food systems and sustainable food security.

It is worth noting that the delegation accompanying the Minister participated in the committee meetings, along with the Sudanese Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Sayid El-Tayeb Ahmed and the Permanent Delegation staff.