When conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023, it interrupted the progress of Mercy Corps’ Swedish-International-Development-Agency-(SIDA)-funded Strengthening Agricultural Markets and Food Security (SAFE) Program. SAFE aimed to sustainably improve the lives of small-holder farmers by utilizing market systems approaches to increase private sector investment. Mercy Corps and SIDA utilized the lessons learned and relationships built during SAFE to continue supporting communities through the crisis, protect the development gains made, and plant the seeds of recovery. One year after the outbreak of violence, this paper reflects on the program’s initial pivot and extracts lessons on how systems approaches may affect program outcomes before and during a crisis response.