South Darfur farmers urged to grow rice instead of cannabis

Sudan’s Second Vice-President, Hasabo Mohamed Abdelrahman has appealed to the residents of El Radoom locality in South Darfur to cultivate rice instead of cannabis on their farms.

Speaking at a mass meeting with the people of the area on Monday, Abdelrahman urged the people to switch to the food crop, “because the climate is suitable for such cultivation”.

Abdelrahman’s visit came after security forces staged a major campaign in El Radoom, during which 6,500 acres of cannabis farms were destroyed and 50 tons of drugs siezed.

According to Sudanese police figures, the El Radoom area ranks first in Africa for the cultivation of cannabis, locally known as 'Bango', much of which is processed into hashish. It represents an area of 34, 000 square kilometres, roughly the equivalent to the whole of Portugal.