Dears As a response to the ongoing conflict,AFPRI Sudan started implementing a suite of studies that they hope will help guide the response(s) by both the national and international partners to this crisis. They have just finalized the first study of this series titled “Monitoring indicators of economic activity in Sudan amidst ongoing conflict using satellite data”, The English version is attached [Monitoring indicators of economic activity in Sudan amidst ongoing conflict.pdf|attachment](upload://mfyic2xcY7GHqS0TXQSTXBqbiiK.pdf) (690 KB)

Attached is a rapid market access assessment of eight locations in Sudan, recently completed by Mercy Corps. Best regards, Sasha [MC_Sudan_Rapid_Market_Access_Survey_May_8_2023.pdf|attachment](upload://8U8gZnQ1QYIIKGUPCwOBkx99bxW.pdf) (122.5 KB)

Hi Alison, MiC Community, Thanks for sharing this. I am also sharing a Market Systems Analysis conducted under the [PROSPECTS](https://www.ilo.org/global/programmes-and-projects/prospects/countries/sudan/WCMS_854633/lang--en/index.htm#:~:text=The%20ILO%20PROSPECTS%20interventions%20in,the%20communities%20that%20host%20them.) project for the Groundnuts and Sesame Value Chains in West Kordofan and East Darfur. The link is below: [https://www.ilo.org/empent/Projects/refugee-livelihoods/WCMS_842774/lang--en/index.htm](https://www.ilo.org/empent/Projects/refugee-livelihoods/WCMS_842774/lang--en/index.htm) Regards, Fatima Sirelkhatim Enterprise Development Coordinator, PROSPECTS ILO Sudan

Thanks for joining us here Hassan! And thanks for sharing this IFPRI report. Like Alison's report, it gives us some good baseline data. Very helpful for thinking through which market-aware activities are possible. Interesting to note how transport was contributing to increasing costs... that is one to watch, as I imagine it is only going to get worse... which will then have knock-on effects on other prices and food security.

(with proper attachment!) Hi all, Good to see us mobilizing here. On behalf of Mercy Corps' Sudan team, I'm sharing the baseline Market Systems Analysis (groundnut and sesame sectors, South Kordufan and Blue Nile) completed in 2020 by the Sida-funded SAFE program. While it's not current, it gives a good look at what agricultural market functions and actors have been there pre-conflict, and their capacities and longer run constraints. Note that this is an extraction from the team's inception report (so you'll see section numbers skip). As we think about how to keep critical market systems functioning through the crisis, this can be a helpful input for planning upcoming assessments. Completely agree with Sara that it makes sense to dig into the main sectors and market functions that people are going to need in the coming months. Thanks, Alison [Mercy Corps_SIDA_SAFE_Inception Report 31 March 2020_abridged.pdf|attachment](upload://yw8yYqkIjDKXfpBXXzemvtioERF.pdf) (1.59 MB)

Please find attached file [Quarterly Bulletin English Version.pdf|attachment](upload://mxyFuDKEegZtX5bFBizYs0THxAx.pdf) (293 KB)

Dears It is greatly appreciated that you are concerned about what is happening in Sudan. My name is Hassan Sanhori, I am Sudanese and I work as a consultant for the International Livestock Research Institute "ILRI" Value Chain Specialist" for a SASAS project funded by USAID in Sudan. Please feel free to contact me if you need assistance on the ground.

Hi Sara, That's a good idea, though development practitioners can be included in addition to humanitarians. I wrote my reflection on the matter here: [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fatimaelsanousi_sudan-activity-7057273498737491968-M5fx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fatimaelsanousi_sudan-activity-7057273498737491968-M5fx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android) Happy to participate and circulate, though it would better if the form can be filled by phone rather than laptops as people are on the move. P.S. Zain credit recharge via Mbok is back. Regards, Fatima

Some quick points collected from REACH's internal SDR: * Extreme insecurity, particularly in Khartoum and Darfur urban areas, has cut off civilian populations from essential goods and services, among them food, water, marketplaces, electricity (affecting points of sale, refrigeration, and cold chains), and mobile networks (therefore also mobile money-- internet in general is operating at an estimated 2% of normal capacity) * Banks and other FSPs have largely suspended operations in the most heavily affected areas, cutting off households from most sources of physical cash, even as vendors, transporters, etc. decline to accept anything other than banknotes * Hawala services are difficult to assess, but appear to have retained more functionality than more formal FSPs; hawala agents, however, are subject to the same dangers (and more) as other civilians * Economic resilience is eroding rapidly the longer that households remain unable to access their own bank accounts and mobile money accounts * Situation at borders is evolving rapidly, but there is evidence of economic spillover into border regions of neighboring countries that depend on Sudanese supply chains-- in northern CAR (Birao and Ndélé), prices for basic commodities have reportedly doubled due to border insecurity; Chad and Ethiopia are confirmed to have closed their borders to cargo from Sudan at various points; general chaos at Egyptian border crossings is also blocking cargo from transiting I've also seen some questions about the current state of coordination mechanisms (including CWGs), and while the messaging on this has also been evolving, senior OCHA leadership will remain in Port Sudan, while a remote coordination hub housing the rest of the Sudan humanitarian infrastructure is currently being set up in Nairobi. I haven't been in contact with the Sudan CWG but assume that they'll also be going largely remote. Hope this is helpful! Best regards, Chris Paci

Hi all, Throwing an idea out here for feedback: Would it make sense to try and do a quick assessment of fundamental market systems in Khartoum using humanitarian staff still in the country as informants? To start, I think it would be particularly useful to get a picture of where the financial system is at. We're hearing of various levels of financial system failure that are keeping people from their cash (and then meeting other needs), so this might be a good place to start. We could set up a quick google form, circulate it, and share results here? If there's interest, happy to convene a small group to discuss next steps. On a related practical note - has anyone found a way to transfer airtime to MTN or Zain #s in Sudan from abroad? Would love to find a way to keep colleagues' data packets full, especially if asking them to engage on something like this.... Thanks, Sara

Thanks Lili for getting this started. It is still early days in the crisis but I agree it would be great to coordinate going forward. The MiC can facilitate a zoom meeting of interested actors when it makes sense. Coincidently, I was just in Khartoum a month ago interviewing private sector actors in the agriculture market system on behalf of Mercy Corps. They were complaining about how tough the situation was even before the violence erupted. I worry that warehouses with seed and other ag input supplies are getting looted now. The FAO CFSAM report is great. A couple of other recent reports I found are: 1. The FAO Global Information and Early Warning System report from March 30, 2023 - https://www.fao.org/giews/countrybrief/country.jsp?code=SDN&lang=en 2. WFP's 2022 Sudan annual report - https://www.wfp.org/operations/annual-country-report?operation_id=SD02&year=2022#/25131

Thanks Corrie - appreciate the information and hope that we can build on this body of information as the situation evolves. I shall start a similar line of enquiry on the CaLP D-group side on cash feasibility. Thanks again Lili

Hi @lilimohiddin - good idea...... A few resources to consider whilst people working in/on Sudan jump in : 1- The FAO released very recently their CFSAM report which contains useful recent info on crop and livestock markets - https://www.fao.org/3/cc5009en/cc5009en.pdf 2- FEWS NET have a recent Sudan update too - https://fews.net/east-africa/sudan/key-message-update/march-2023 In fact I'd say the (new look!) FEWS Net website page on Sudan is a good place to start generally as they have their trade flow maps for sorghum, maize, millet and wheat plus their price bulletins etc. There aren't any EMMA analyses on the EMMA website which cover Sudan but if others have market baselines they can share please do! Over to others... C

Dear CoP, As the situation in Sudan unfolds and we get more clarity on what the situation is on the ground, please can we share updates here regarding market capacity etc? I know it is early days yet and there will be a lot of variation across the country - but just wanted to put this out there to enable more aligned, informed response analysis and decision making. Thanks to all. Lili