Sudan's farmland is vanishing as conflict, fueled in part by Canadian‑made arms, pushes children toward hunger

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 8, 2026 /CNW/ - World Vision Canada says new high-resolution satellite imagery paints a stark picture of Sudan's collapsing agricultural system, with children and families pushed closer to hunger and displacement as the conflict drags on, in part because Canadian-made weapons continue to fuel the conflict.

We Analyzed Sudan from Space. What We Found Was Devastating

​17.3M children in need - mass hunger has gripped the nation with acute food insecurity

The new report, The Hollowed Earth, shows how conflict is stripping away the land that should be feeding the next generation. Since fighting escalated in April 2023, nearly 40,000 square kilometres of farmland - an area roughly the size of Vancouver Island - has been degraded across Sudan. The country is now facing the world's largest displacement crisis alongside a hunger emergency that is placing millions of children at risk of starvation.

For children like 11‑year‑old Yusuf*, the crisis is not abstract. "The sky was black with smoke… we ran until we could not breathe," he recalls after his family home was shelled. When they finally reached a new location, "there is nothing but dust," echoing the stories of countless families forced into places where agriculture is no longer viable.

The Hollowed Earth compares satellite "health checks" of Sudan's agricultural zones between early 2023 and 2025. The analysis shows severe damage to the Gezira Scheme - Sudan's largest irrigated farming project between the Blue and White Nile and once the backbone of the country's cotton and food production - as well as restrictions on access to land and water and sharp declines in crop yields as fuel and fertilizer supplies are disrupted. Once positioned to be a regional agricultural powerhouse, Sudan's land has been pushed into systemic breakdown after years of underinvestment and more than three years of conflict.

Millions of people have fled into areas with degraded land and limited water, compounding risks for children. The report finds that 1.8 million children have been forced across borders and more than 3.7 million displaced inside Sudan. Agricultural collapse, broken trade routes and market disruption have left 41 percent of the population in acute hunger, including 5.5 million people in emergency or catastrophic conditions.

As children and families face acute hunger, Canadian-made weapons have found their way into the country. How they end up there is not clear. But one thing is clear: Canada's export controls are not doing enough to prevent weapons sold to one country from being diverted and used to fuel violence in another.

Quotes

"The land that feeds Sudan's children is disappearing," said Simon Mane, World Vision Sudan National Director. "Without urgent action, this crisis will leave a generation facing lifelong damage. We need life‑saving food, nutrition and health assistance, as well as efforts to restore irrigation, protect access to land and water, and secure safe humanitarian access."

"Canadians are rightly asking how this is happening, and what is being done to stop it," said Allison Alley, President and CEO of World Vision Canada. "In a world of growing instability and violence, we cannot accept children being harmed by conflict or by gaps in our own systems. Canada must ensure its export controls are strong enough to keep Canadian‑made weapons from harming children, while also helping ensure humanitarian aid can safely reach families who need it."

World Vision is calling for coordinated action by governments, donors, UN agencies, NGOs, civil society and the private sector to prevent irreversible collapse of food systems across multiple regions and to strengthen arms export controls so children are protected from both hunger and violence. Since the conflict began, World Vision has reached 3.2 million people in Sudan, including one million children, with food, cash, health services and protection, and is supporting farmers with seeds, tools, livestock and water systems to sustain local food production.

*Name changed to protect identity.

About World Vision Canada

World Vision Canada is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization working to create lasting change in the lives of children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values, World Vision is dedicated to working with the world's most vulnerable people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

SOURCE World Vision Canada

Media Contact: Marco Ouji, Senior Media Manager, World Vision Canada, [email protected]