Agricultures

The Sudan is a vast country extending gradually from the desert in the north with hot dry climate and no vegetative cover, to the African Sahel zone in the center with light and dense Savannah, and to the sub-tropical region in the South with heavy rains and dense tree cover. This endows the country with diversity as reflected in various environments and different agricultural systems.

The Sudan is an Afro-Arab country well-placed geographically, median among the Arab countries in North Africa, the Arab countries across the Red Sea and the countries of east, central and west Africa. In this respect the country serves not only as a bridge facilitating trade and human movement, but also as a melting pot of African and Arab cultures. The country by size and diversity is Africa in miniature with complex

cultural, ethnic and religious entities. With 2.5 million square kilometers in area, the Sudan is the largest Arab and African country. It enjoys extensive arable land, estimated at some 85 million hectares (1 ha = 2.38 feddans), that can mostly be rain cultivated with rain-fall varying from about 50 millimeters in the extreme north to more than 1500 mm in the extreme south. Thanks to the extensive rains most of central and all southern Sudan is covered with forests and grasslands, grossly estimated at some 66 million ha. The Nile River with its various tributaries crosses the country from the south to the north offering an annual flow of some 84 milliard cubic meters, Sudan’s share of which is 18.5 milliard cubic meters at Aswan. The country is also rich in underground water that has hardly been tapped, in addition to numerous seasonal rivers outside the Nile Valley which need to be controlled and regulated to maximize their utilization. All these natural resources have allowed the build-up of a national herd of livestock, estimated at some 116 million head of cattle, sheep, goats and camels, as well as several million wild animals. The Nile Valley and the Red Sea are also rich in fish and aquatic life constituting a tourist attraction in addition to their role in food security. The country is well known for its rich mineral resources which include petroleum, gold, iron, lead, chrome, asbestos ... etc. Indeed a 1600 kilometers of pipeline, Bashair Sea Port and other installations have been completed and the export of crude oil began on 30th August 1999 in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Salvation Revolution. The construction of Khartoum refinery is expected to be completed by March 2000 to commence the export of refined products.

The Role of Agriculture in the National Economy

Agriculture is the leading economic sector, contributing 48% of the GDP, giving employment to 65% of the population and providing the country with about 80% of the export earnings, which were estimated at 600 million dollars in 1999. The agricultural sector is the source of raw material to the processing factories in the country including textiles,

sugar, vegetable oil, soap factories, grain mills, milk factories, tanneries, saw mills. etc which contribute 17% of GDP and some 20% of foreign earnings.

Sudan comes first among developing countries that have implemented programmes to restructure the economy to privatize the public sector and to liberalize production, trade and export policies. The Sudan is an active member of the African Common Market of East and South Africa (COMMESA); the Arab Common Market, the Greater Arab Free-Trade Region and a prospective member of the World Trade Organization.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture & forestry

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