Vast tracts of land cultivated with sorghum and sesame in El Gedaref state have gone out of the production circle because of the bad weather conditions for agriculture, according to a former member of the Sudanese Union of Farmers.
More than three million acres in north and northwest El Gedaref are affected, Hassan Zarroug told Radio Dabanga yesterday. He added that traders have sold their cattle because of the lack of water and pasture, and the decreasing prices for livestock.
Zarroug said that farmers of the Fadasi project complained that their lands have been subjected to extremely dry weather for nearly a week.
Livestock owners in the state reported an acute shortage of water and pastures in El Butana in the beginning of October. The conditions forced the pastoralists to move their livestock to other areas, causing friction with the farmers.
Poor rainfall performance from May to July 2015 has delayed planting in many rainfedandnbsp;zones of Sudan including El Gedaref state. The below-average rainfall continued in the area through September.