Ambitious Plans and Unresponsive Sectors: New Horizons for Pastoral Development in Sudan

Abstract

Introduction Sudan is primarily an agricultural country, with a total area of 600 million feddans, of which one-third is potentially arable. Eighty percent of its 25 million population is involved in farming. The annual contribution of this sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the period 1990/91-1994/95 was thirty-seven percent on average (The Economic Review, 1994/95) and its yearly contribution to the state's export earnings is over ninety percent. Livestock, which plays a major role in agriculture, consists of 30 million, 37 million, 33 million and 3 million heads of cattle, sheep, goats and camels respectively (Livestock Economics Dept. 1994). Animal husbandry provides partial and/or full subsistence to approximately forty percent of the country's inhabitants (Ali 1988, Robinson 1987, Abdalla 1985) and its contribution to the agricultural sector in terms of GDP ranges between thirty-five and fifty-two percent, averaging roughly twenty percent (The Economic Review 1994/95); it counts for about one-quarter of Sudanese foreign exchange returns since 1993 (Bank of Sudan data). Over ninety percent of herds in the country are in the hands of pastoral communities, comprising what is generally known as the traditional sector, and herding is based entirely on natural pastures, characterised by migratory movements between dry and wet retreat lands. The crop sub-sector requires a large package of inputs, such as certified seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, fuel, tractors, combined harvesters, sacks, etc. Most of these inputs are imported from abroad and are hence a great drain on the country's meagre foreign exchange reserves. The output per feddan is relatively low, resulting in very expensive commodities that can hardly compete in the world market. In comparison, the livestock sub-sector requires a limited amount of imported inputs, mainly veterinary drugs and equipment. Forage, the major input, is free (natural grazing), and hence beef and mutton products are cheap and consequently more competitive in the world market. National development plans since independence (1956), however, focused solely on the crop sub-sector, with special emphasis on cash crops, mainly cotton in irrigated areas. Mechanised fanning of dura (sorghum) and sesame on rainfed lands has expanded since then, at the expense of grazing land. Livestock was greatly neglected in development plans. The few projects intended for this sector roll over from one development plan to the next (Ibrahim 1994, Khatab 1989, Yousif 1991, Nur 1994). This trend was reversed somewhat by the Comprehensive National Strategy (CNS), a 10-year development plan (1992-2001) launched in the country. This strategy places greater emphasis on export, with special focus on livestock as a potential source of foreign exchange earnings. This paper seeks to investigate whether animal husbandry, under the existing management system, is ready to respond to the aspirations of this current strategy. The factors which influence the supply of livestock to the markets in Sudan will be analysed, and the prospects for the development of the sector will also be touched upon. The Comprehensive National Strategy (CNS) The ten years National Strategy for development stated some objectives for the agricultural sector. It called for: 1. The realisation of food security 2. efficient utilisation of resources 3. augmentation of agricultural contribution to Gross Domestic Product 4. promotion of exports 5. balanced growth at sub-sectoral and regional levels 6. improvement of the standards of living For the livestock sub-sector, the strategy specifically calls for: 1. tripling of livestock population 2. promotion of livestock husbandry and management systems 3. raising livestock exports twenty-fold 4. eradication of endemic and epidemic diseases 5. …