Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Economic Aspects of Agricultural Production in the Gezira

1996; Michigan State University Press; Volume: 3; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/nas.1996.0003

1535-6574

Sam L. Laki,

Land Rights and Reforms

Economie Aspects ofAgricultural Production in the Gezira Sam L. Laki Central State University, Ohio Historical Development In 1908, a pump scheme was established at Tayba for the production of cotton under the management of Sudan Productions Syndicate (SPS). In 1925, the Sennar dam on the Blue Nile, financed by a loan from the British government, was completed. Crop production under gravity irrigation began in the Gezira. Cotton was the main crop, but sorghum and beans were included in the rotation for subsistence and fodder. The initial 300,000 feddans had expanded to 700,000 feddans by 1931 (Gaitskell, 1959). The 1913 Gezira tenancy agreement established a triple partnershipgovernment , syndicate and tenants. The agreed upon production relationship specifies the responsibilities of each of the three partners in the production process. The government leases the land, builds and maintains the irrigation canals; the syndicate supplies credit and management; and the tenant supplies labor and tools, and undertakes field operations. The profit from cotton production were distributed to the three partners according to a prescribed formula (Tenancy agreement, 1927). Following the nationalization of the Gezira Scheme in 1950, the Sudan Gezira Board was established to replace the Syndicate. The area under irrigation was expanded and crop production was diversified and intensified. Cotton continued to be grown as a main source of exports. Wheat was introduced as an import substitute and groundnuts for export, domestic consumption and the maintenance of soil fertility. Sorghum continued to be grown as a subsistence crop. Gezira now produces 47 percent of Sudan's cotton, 11 percent of its sorghum, 60 percent of its® Northeast African Studies (ISSN 0740-9133) Vol. 3, No. 3 (New Series) 1996, pp. 27-5827 28 Sam L. Laki KHARTOUM OHOURHAN NORTH ViHCPWAD HEOANI BARAKAT *»*f? ? C3 SENNA Source: Ahmed et al., 1988 Figure 1. Main Irrigation Network in the Gezira Economie Aspects ofAgricultural Production in the Gezira 29 wheat and 28 percent of its groundnuts. About 1.5 million people depend on the Gezira Scheme for their livelihood. With an area of 2 million feddans and a cropping intensity of 57 percent, the Gezira is "the largest farm in the world under a single management" Qaffe, 1992). Figure 1 presents the main irrigation network in the Gezira Scheme. Current Situation and Organization The Gezira Scheme lies between the Blue and the White Niles. The 5million -feddan Gezira plain is suitable for irrigation because the gentle slope of 15 cm per kilometer towards the White Nile requires little investment in leveling and canal lining; and the clay soils allows little water loss through seepage. The erratic rainfall could only support the production of short maturing drought-resistant sorghum combined with semi-nomadic herding of cattle, sheep and goats. The Gezira Irrigation Scheme is fed by gravity irrigation from the Blue Nile. The total area is 2.1 million feddans, 1.2 million feddans in the main Gezira and 0.9 million feddans in the Managil extension, established in 1957 following the construction of the Roseires dam. The Gezira Scheme represents 47 percent of the total irrigated area and 10 percent of the total arable area under crop production in the Sudan. The management of the Gezira Scheme is divided between the Ministry of Irrigation (MOI) which is responsible for the irrigation network and the Sudan Gezira Board which is responsible for agricultural operations and for determining the irrigation water requirements. Figure 2 shows a typical irrigation schedule layout of a ten feddan hawasha. The Ministry of Irrigation staff involved in the management is 3,200 persons, of whom 18 are university graduates, and 78 of whom are technicians. The Ministry of Irrigation is organized into 7 divisions, each under the control of a division engineer (DE), 23 subdivisions under the control of assistant division engineers (ADE) and 56 sections under the control of assistant engineers (AE). Each subdivision controls an area of 90,000 feddans. The ADE handles water control and the AE handles maintenance operations. The main maintenance activities including silt 30 Sam L. Laki MovoobleWetr ?. WdOuwnp· F MNOP CANAl- ë////////////WM///W//////â¦\ABJSnA (VI) SEE OETALS SELOW Urn* of o feu number rotation unrt MgM Stono« Wetr ORIGINAL DEIAJLED HELD LAVOUT OF A...