New York, May 24 2011 5:10PM
Irrigation equipment provided through an initiative managed by the United
Nation Development Programme (UNDP) has enabled more than 1,000 farmers in
north-eastern Sudan to increase harvests and boost incomes from the sale of
their produce.
The rural community in Arabaat, 30 kilometres west of Port Sudan, which has
traditionally relied on rain-fed subsistence farming, has benefited from
generators and pumps delivered through the Sudan Recovery and Rehabilitation
Programme, enabling them to draw groundwater to cultivate vegetables and
other crops year round, UNDP
<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2011/may/water-access-boosts-crop-prod
uction-and-incomes-in-sudans-rural-east.en">said yesterday.
The $72-million project is managed by UNDP on behalf of the Government of
National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan and funded by the
European Commission and Norway.
"There is a big difference now," said Aisha Sharief, who heads one of the
Arabaat farms. "Nowadays we have permanent irrigation and alternate crops
like sorghum and vegetables." She also grows tomatoes, okra and arugula.
Hussein Musa, who is in charge of getting the farmers' produce to the
market, said: "In the past some people used wells run by merchants who took
50 per cent in profits and farmers earned little. Now each farm has a well."
Farmers have also participated in management training and formed the Arabaat
Development Association, which has enabled them to pool resources and run
other development projects, such as water systems and fisheries.
"Previously women were not represented in leadership but now they are part
of the way we do business," said Ms. Sharief.
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