Germany Supports Agricultural Program to Aid Sudanese Refugees in Chad

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During a four-day visit to Chad, Germanys Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, announced plans to assist Chad in accommodating refugees from Sudan. This will be achieved through a program aimed at integrating Sudanese refugees into local communities while also strengthening the host society.

Schulze stated, "The plight of people in Sudan has not received enough attention, even though it is currently the largest refugee crisis in the world." She highlighted that over 90% of arrivals in Chad are women and children.

She praised Chad for its efforts, saying, "They are welcoming refugees into a country that itself faces insecurity, drought, floods, and hunger. Yet Chad is not building fences but showing solidarity with refugees."

Over the next five years, the Chadian government plans to allocate 100,000 hectares (approximately 240,000 acres) of land for free, with half designated for refugee families and the other half for impoverished host community families, according to Germanys Deutsche Welle.

Each family will receive one hectare of land. The World Food Programme is set to support these families in making the land usable for agriculture.

More than 700,000 refugees from Sudan have fled to neighboring Chad.

While visiting the Adré border crossing in eastern Chad, Schulze remarked, "Unfortunately, we must assume that most refugees will not be able to return to Sudan in the foreseeable future."

She emphasized that humanitarian aid is not a permanent solution, stating, "This approach, which provides land to refugees and host communities and rehabilitates it for use as fields and pastures, is a pioneering step. Those with fertile land can sustain themselves."

Janine Lietmeyer, Director of World Vision Germany, noted that around 250,000 refugees are currently living in dire conditions in makeshift shelters in the Adré area. "In many cases, people are living under tarpaulin sheets stretched over tree trunks or poles," she added.