Small-Scale Family Farming in the Near East and North Africa Region
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STUDY ON SMALL-SCALE FAMILY FARMING IN THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION FOCUS COUNTRY Sudan STUDY ON SMALL-SCALE FAMILY FARMING IN THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION FOCUS COUNTRY Sudan FAO Supervising officer: Alfredo Impiglia Delivery Manager Regional Initiative on Small-Scale Family Farming for the Near East and North Africa Region Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa Cairo, Egypt E-mail: [email protected] Published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Mamoun Beheiry Center for Economic and Social Studies and Research in Africa Khartoum, 2017 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) or Mamoun Beheiry Center for Economic and Social Studies and Research in Africa (MBC) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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Cover photo: © FAO/Jose Cendon TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface .......................................................................................................................................viii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................ix Acronyms .....................................................................................................................................xi Executive summary ....................................................................................................................xiii Background ............................................................................................................................... xiii Small-scale farming subsystems in Sudan ...............................................................................xv Contexts, Constraints and Policy Responses ............................................................................ xx Recommended Actions .............................................................................................................xxii Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1 0.1 The Country’s Agro-Ecological Zones ................................................................................ 2 0.2 Evolution and performance of the agriculture sector ....................................................... 4 SECTION ONE Small-scale family farming .....................................................................................................10 1.1 Definition and Overview.................................................................................................... 10 1.1.1 Defining small-scale agricultural holdings in Sudan ................................................... 10 1.1.2 The typology of Sudan’s smallholder farming .............................................................. 13 1.1.3 Small-scale family farming and the livelihood zones ................................................... 16 1.1.4 Contribution of SSF to the national economy: overview ............................................... 18 1.2 Small-Scale Crop Production .......................................................................................... 23 1.2.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 23 1.2.2 Farming patterns and organization .............................................................................. 23 1.2.3 Contribution to the national economy ........................................................................... 24 1.2.4 Challenges and constraints .......................................................................................... 26 1.2.5 Adapting and coping strategies ..................................................................................... 30 1.2.6 Policies and institutional support ................................................................................. 33 1.3 Small-Scale Animal Production ....................................................................................... 33 1.3.1 Characterization of small-scale animal production ..................................................... 33 1.3.2 Pastoral livelihood ......................................................................................................... 35 1.3.3 Natural resources and pastoral herding ....................................................................... 37 1.3.4 Adaptation of pastoralists to changing conditions........................................................ 42 1.3.5 Intensive production (or commercial) system .............................................................. 43 1.3.6 Contribution to the national economy ........................................................................... 47 1.3.7 Challenges and constraints to animal production ........................................................ 50 1.3.8 Policy, institutional and regulatory frameworks .......................................................... 56 1.4 Semi-mechanized rainfed farming .................................................................................. 56 1.4.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 56 1.4.2 Mechanization in Sudan’s rainfed agriculture .............................................................. 56 iii STUDY ON SMALL-SCALE FAMILY FARMING IN THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION FOCUS COUNTRY: SUDAN 1.4.3 Farming pattern of small-scale semi-mechanized farms ........................................... 60 1.4.4 Challenges and constraints .......................................................................................... 61 1.5 Small-Scale Irrigated Farming ........................................................................................ 62 1.5.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 62 1.5.2 Water management systems ........................................................................................ 63 1.5.3 The contribution of the irrigated sector to the economy .............................................. 64 1.5.4 Tenancy based large irrigated schemes ....................................................................... 65 1.5.5 Small-scale irrigated schemes ..................................................................................... 68 1.5.6 Characteristics of small-scale irrigated farming system ............................................ 70 1.5.7 Challenges to the irrigated sector ................................................................................ 73 1.6 Small-scale forestry production ...................................................................................... 75 1.6.1 Forest coverage ............................................................................................................. 75 1.6.2 Benefits and utilization of forests ................................................................................. 75 1.6.3 Gum arabic production .................................................................................................. 76 1.6.4 Contribution to communities and the national economy ............................................. 78 1.7 Small-Scale Fisheries ...................................................................................................... 84 1.7.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 84 1.7.2 Fish farming .................................................................................................................. 84 1.7.3 Distribution of fishery resources................................................................................... 85 1.7.4 Characteristics of Sudanese man-made lakes ............................................................ 86 1.7.5 Aquaculture ..................................................................................................................