Sudan’s Vice President announces that the State’s current policy is to improve agriculture

Khartoum-SudaneseOnline-Sudan’s Vice President, Hassabo Mohammed Abdel Rahman that Sudan would not be freed from external import and foreign exchange pressures only further increasing of production rates on all levels especially in the agricultural sector.
During his visit to Al-Rahad Agricultural Scheme on Friday, Abdel Rahman, said that the State’s current policy is aim to promote the economy and development of production to be free from the foreign grip.
n the early 1990s, agriculture and livestock raising were the main sources of livelihood in Sudan for about 61 percent of the working population. Approximately one-third of the total area of Sudan is suitable for agricultural development and heavier rainfall in the south permits both agriculture and herding by nomadic tribes.
Agricultural products in total account for about 95 percent of the country's exports In 1998 there was an estimated 16.9 million hectares (41.8 million acres) of arable land and approximately 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) set aside for irrigation, primarily in the north of the country along the banks of the Nile and other rivers. Cash crops (as of 1999) grown under irrigation in these areas include cotton and cottonseed, which is of primary importance to the economy with 172,000 tons and 131,000 tons produced annually respectively, sesame (220,000 tons),sugarcane (5,950,000 tons), peanuts (980,000 tons),