Despite significant deterioration and longstanding neglect of Sudan’s livestock sector, the war, now entering its fourth year, has deepened a crisis of unprecedented scale.
In the past three years, violent shocks have hit production areas across Kordofan, White Nile and Darfur. Vast grazing lands have turned into unsafe zones, supply chains collapsed and transport between states declined. Traditional marketing routes were disrupted, official markets vanished, and alternative ones emerged far from production areas, causing domestic market instability and a sharp surge in livestock and meat prices without benefiting herders or breeders across pastoral communities and rural producers alike severely.
Livestock traders, who rely on cash transactions, have faced armed robbery and theft while moving between insecure markets.
Musa Fadl, a sheep trader in North Kordofan
Thus, herders found themselves amid military battle overnight, not as fighters but as victims of both sides, as buying and selling occurs amid severe security risks due to security vacuum, crime spread, and weapons proliferation in pastures.
According to Musa Fadl, a sheep trader in North Kordofan, livestock trade has been heavily affected by the war, with traders facing armed looting and security harassment even from members of military forces in various cities and markets through which they move.
“Livestock trade is known to rely on cash transactions, and amid insecurity many traders were subjected to armed robbery and theft at gunpoint as thieves often target individuals carrying cash such as livestock traders moving between markets in insecure areas across region,” Fadl told Atar.
The breakdown of security in markets and threats to capital assets have affected herders who have long suffered severe hardship due to the drying up of markets and declining local consumption in cities and rural areas that witnessed, for the first time, large waves of displacement and migration that forced herders to move to “areas that were not part of grazing options and not conducive to livestock rearing,” as described by Al-Khair Abdullah, a sheep breeder from White Nile State.
Before the war, herders followed seasonal grazing routes. Afterward, they were stranded in unsuitable areas for long periods.
Al-Khair Abdullah, a sheep breeder from White Nile State
“Herders used to follow specific routes with their herds throughout the year and known grazing areas they divided between months of the year. But after the war, the grazing map changed and they remained in unsuitable places for long periods,” Al-Khair told Atar.
Al-Khair says many familiar veterinary medicines have now disappeared, while new drugs have emerged, most of them entering the country through smuggling, and many herders do not know how to use them amid the absence of veterinarians in production areas.
“These matters, despite their simplicity, have caused many problems for herders who have suffered heavy losses due to the spread of disease and the death of livestock. It is not unlikely that current herd losses have exceeded half since the start of the war in some herds, and a large number of herders and breeders have lost their herds entirely,” Al-Khair added.
According to several accounts and on-the-ground evidence, the livestock sector today appears to stand at a decisive crossroads as the war has violently redrawn its map through the emergence of markets in areas unfavourable to breeders while grazing lands themselves have changed.
Many routes and seasonal migratory paths have been closed due to encroachments by farmers who exploited the absence of official authorities and converted grazing corridors into farms.
Al-Tahir Al-Mardi, a herder in North Kordofan, says they used to rely on Abu Al-Ghar market, between Al-Obeid and Ar-Rahad, as a seasonal base for their livestock during the autumn months of June to October, a practice established for years. However, they later found the area taken over by farmers, forcing herders to disperse into different locations, including Sherkila, where he took his livestock for the first time, an unusual move.
Kordofan and Darfur regions once served as the main suppliers of sheep to both local and foreign markets, with livestock value rising depending on production areas.
But after the war, Darfur and significant parts of Kordofan were removed from the local consumption and export cycle because of being under Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control, which issued a ban preventing the movement of sheep and other livestock into SAF-held areas. This pushed livestock traders to alternative regions in South White Nile, Al-Butana, Northern State, and Blue Nile.
Suleiman Musa, a sheep trader at the Tandalti market, told Atar that regions such as Kordofan were supplying markets during the first and second years of the war.
After roads were closed and livestock was barred from reaching central, eastern and northern states, traders turned to Blue Nile and areas such as Ar-Rawat and Al-Meqiniss in White Nile State. However, these areas also saw a marked decline in livestock numbers due to heavy demand, as they were considered relatively safer and untouched by the war.
Later, West and South Kordofan exited the production cycle after the conflict reached them, and Blue Nile State took their place, with Boutt market becoming its most famous and one of the largest livestock markets in the region.
Yet since 2025, these areas have not been safe, and sheep supplies from there have halted, as most herders moved into South Sudan and Ethiopia to avoid danger zones that have turned into active theatres of military operations.
“Currently, there are small pockets and limited areas from which sheep are still brought after Kordofan, Darfur, and Blue Nile exited the production cycle, including Abu Anbag and Abu Dum in North Kordofan and Al-Zerayqa in North White Nile, areas where herders are still holding on,” Musa told Atar.
Despite the presence of large sheep herds in Darfur and West Kordofan, these regions have become largely closed off to traders from eastern states. Ishaq Abdullah, a livestock trader at the Nyala market, told Atar that the decision to ban the movement of livestock to central, eastern, and northern states, where the largest consumer base is located and through which exports pass, has significantly impacted sheep prices in Darfur, driving them down sharply for herders.
Over the past two years, weak demand in Darfur and West Kordofan has caused major losses for herders, forcing many to sell their herds at any cost.
He said a sheep now sells for between 170,000 and 250,000 Sudanese pounds ($59.95 to $74.07) while the same animal can fetch up to one million pounds in North Kordofan.
“Here in South Darfur, consumption is limited, and it is not possible to transport sheep to South Sudan or Chad as both countries already have sufficient livestock,” he added.
“Over the past two years, herders and livestock breeders have suffered severe losses due to weak demand for sheep in Darfur and West Kordofan, which has pushed many of them to try to dispose of their herds at any cost,” Ishaq said, underscoring the difficulties sheep traders face in moving livestock into SAF-controlled areas due to the ban.
“We have lost a lot. Despite our repeated discussions with the leadership of the Tasis government, the embargo has not been lifted. They keep telling us they are working to open new routes and markets soon, but we know nothing about them.”
For his part, Suleiman Musa says sheep prices in Tandalti and Umm Ruwaba have risen sharply in recent days, with a single sheep reaching 700,000 pounds ($207.41) in Tandalti and selling for no less than one million pounds in Khartoum or Madani, for example.
In Umm Ruwaba, the price has climbed to 800,000 pounds ($237.04).
“There are markets such as Ad-Dabbah in Northern State and Umm Ruwaba that operate in export sheep trade, but their numbers have become extremely limited due to rising local demand,” Musa said, noting that Al-Dabba market has become a hub where livestock is brought from smaller markets in North Kordofan and Northern State, and some traders even come from Mellit in North Darfur to Al-Dabba.
As for Umm Ruwaba, livestock is gathered there from nearby local markets. However, with rising prices and declining livestock numbers, the volume in export markets has significantly decreased.
Hamdan Abdullah, a sheep trader, told Atar the rise in prices is linked to the limited supply of sheep in the market ahead of the Eid season. As a result, sheep prices in Omdurman, the most densely populated area of Khartoum, now range between 700,000 and 1.2 million pounds ($287.77 and $355.56).
In Madani, despite differences in livestock types, prices do not fall below 600,000 pounds ($177.78).
