El Gedaref farmers unable to plant, pay for land

Farmers in southern El Gedaref have complained that they are unable to plant the majority of their land because of rising costs.

Farmers in the eastern Sudanese state told Radio Dabanga that the cost of planting 10 acres exceeds SDG10,000 ($355*). “This is because the price of a barrel of diesel in the black market has amounted to SDG5 million, while the cost of plowing acres has increased, and rent of plots ranges from SDG1,000 to 2,000.

Early last month, farmers in El Gedaref state issued warnings about major threats to the agricultural season. A number of them have offered their land for rent as a result. In northern El Gedaref, farmers reported a late distribution of fuel.

Also El Gezira and El Managil Agricultural Scheme has warned of the failure of planting sorghum, groundnut and cotton in the current agricultural season because of the increasing prices of production inputs, the acute fuel crisis, delay in preparation for the agricultural season and the low prices of crops.

White Nile Complex

This week, farmers in the White Nile Milaha Complex have renewed their demand to the state governor to complete the work on the complex. It eventually is expected to integrate and sustain 159 of the White Nile agricultural projects.

Spokesman El Nur Abdallah reported from Shikan, one of the villages in the complex: “The crisis of the projects lies in the failure of former state governors, they didn’t keep to their promises to farmers by completing the projects with sustainable irrigation from the White Nile river.”