Political constraints and opportunities for agricultural investment in Sudan

Political constraints and opportunities for agricultural investment in Sudan
Author: D'Silva, Brian
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 8
Release: 2023-04-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

This note reviews Sudan’s contemporary political landscape and how it affects the viability of much needed investments central to the country’s agricultural transformation. It specifically focuses on livestock and horticulture value chains in Greater Khartoum and natural resource management in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan States. Successive governments have largely neglected the agriculture sector even though it is the largest employment sector in Sudan and contributes about 56 percent to total exports (CBoS, 2020). Moreover, the sector has a high potential for tackling the twin challenges of food insecurity and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. These two are critical priorities given high food price inflation and restricted access to agricultural inputs exacerbated by the Ukraine war. An enabling political and governance environment is essential for adopting and implementing the policies required for agricultural transformation, especially in fragile states like Sudan. This Political Economy Assessment (PEA) exercise has highlighted that the military and paramilitary structures occupy a large market share of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), private company partnerships, and land leases to foreign companies in the agriculture sector. Thus, this study forms a basis for deeper PEA and an opportunity for the exploration of the role of intermediaries and the rent seeking activities at the subsequent levels of agricultural value chains, and the extent to which they are linked to both formal and informal economic structures. We have highlighted how smallholder farmers are largely disadvantaged given the current distribution of economic rents.

Sustainable livestock development in Sudan: Challenges, opportunities, and policy priorities

Sustainable livestock development in Sudan: Challenges, opportunities, and policy priorities
Author: Alfadul, Hanan
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 43
Release: 2024-08-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Livestock in Sudan plays a crucial role in the national economy, particularly in alleviating poverty and enhancing food security. Despite its significance, the last comprehensive livestock census for the country was conducted in 1975, resulting in now outdated and often unreliable data. Recent estimates by USAID indicate that Sudan ranks among the top three African countries in terms of livestock numbers, with an estimated 105.6 million animals. The livestock population in Sudan is predominantly composed of camels, goats, sheep, and cattle. The spatial distribution of livestock is variable and influenced by local factors such as feed resources, land use, and ecological conditions. The Greater Kordofan and Greater Darfur regions have the largest livestock numbers. However, discrepancies between official statistics and field data show the need for updated and accurate livestock data. The livestock sector provides 40 percent of employment and 34 percent of Sudan’s agricultural gross domestic product (GDP). The livestock sector is a vital source of foreign exchange for the Sudanese economy through exports of livestock and livestock products. Besides its economic contributions, the livestock sector provides essential food products, including meat, eggs, and milk, and draught power for agricultural operations and transportation, particularly in rural areas. However, relative to irrigated agriculture, the sector faces challenges due to underinvestment and minimal government attention.

Monitoring indicators of economic activity in Sudan amidst ongoing conflict using satellite data

Monitoring indicators of economic activity in Sudan amidst ongoing conflict using satellite data
Author: Abushama, Hala
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 16
Release: 2023-06-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

The confrontation in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had persisted for months before escalating into an armed conflict on April 15th, 2023. Besides the severe humanitarian catastrophe, the war has disrupted access to power, water, health services, and banking services while also disrupting access to markets triggering considerable scarcity of goods and services. The conflict has destroyed key infrastructure, constraining domestic and international trade and disrupting production activities and supply chains. In this paper, we utilize satellite data to provide a swift analysis of how the conflict has changed patterns of economic activity, which are bound to have severe implications on food security in Sudan. We also describe how remote sensing and data collection methods can be deployed to monitor economic activities amidst armed conflicts.

Water, Civilisation and Power in Sudan

Water, Civilisation and Power in Sudan
Author: Harry Verhoeven
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2015-03-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107061148

Water, Civilisation and Power in Sudan offers an alternative account of how water policy, violence, and economic modernisation are linked.

African Farmers, Value Chains and Agricultural Development

African Farmers, Value Chains and Agricultural Development
Author: Alan de Brauw
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2021-11-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 303088693X

This book provides a thorough introduction to and examination of agricultural value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. First, the authors introduce the economic theory of agri-food value chains and value chain governance, focusing on domestic and regional trade in (and consumption of) food crops in a low-income country context. In addition to mainstream and heterodox thinking about value chain development, the book pays attention to political economy considerations. The book also reviews the empirical evidence on value chain development and performance in Africa. It adopts multiple lenses to examine agricultural value chains, zooming out from the micro level (e.g., relational contracting in a context of market imperfections) to the meso level (e.g., distributional implications of various value chain interventions, inclusion of specific social groups) and the macro level (underlying income, population and urbanization trends, volumes and prices, etc.).Furthermore, this book places value chain development in the context of a process the authors refer to as structural transformation 2.0, which refers to a process where production factors (labor, land and capital) move from low-productivity agriculture to high-productivity agriculture. Finally, throughout the book the authors interpret the evidence in light of three important debates: (i) how competitive are rural factor and product markets, and what does this imply for distribution and innovation? (ii) what role do foreign investment and factor proportions play in the development of agri-food value chains in Africa? (iii) what complementary government policies can help facilitate a process of agricultural value chain transformation, towards high-productive activities and enhancing the capacity of value chains to generate employment opportunities and food security for a growing population.

Land, Investment & Politics

Land, Investment & Politics
Author: Jeremy Lind
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2020
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1847012523

Examines the new challenges facing Africa's pastoral drylands from large-scale investments and how this might affect the economic and political landscape for the regions affected and their peoples.

Darfur's Political Economy

Darfur's Political Economy
Author: Hamid Ali
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2014-08-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317964640

Darfur is a vast region endowed with limited and unexplored natural resources, poor infrastructure, and lack of major development projects, and identifying its economic and human development needs brings us closer to finding ways to alleviate its human suffering and environmental stress. This book presents a broad spectrum of analytical perspectives from prominent academics, professionals, and practitioners from Darfur itself, adhering to the principles of scientific inquiry with intellectual rigor and objectivity in order to form a collective thesis on the political economy of Darfur. The first section in this title presents Darfur as a political entity, including its systems of land tenure and administration. The second section describes the water resources, agricultural production, and environmental conditions of the region. The third discusses the cost of the war, health issues, and women’s issues, and the fourth discusses energy and transportation infrastructure. While there are many existing books that discuss the current humanitarian and political crisis in Darfur, this is one of the first to explore the causes behind the crisis. This title is a valuable resource for academics, students, researchers and policy-makers with an interest in the region and in the wider fields of political economy and conflict studies.

The architecture of the Sudanese agricultural sector and its contribution to the economy between 1990 and 2021

The architecture of the Sudanese agricultural sector and its contribution to the economy between 1990 and 2021
Author: Alhelo, Alzaki
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 49
Release: 2023-06-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

The paper reviews the performance of the Sudanese agricultural sector over the last three decades (1990 through 2021) and examines the drivers of that performance. Key findings show that the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product was greater during the 1990–1999 period than during the other two decades; agricultural productivity as well was higher in that decade than in the subsequent two decades. The sector has remained a major source of employment and livelihood. During the last decade reviewed (2010–2021), the sector regained its leading position as a generator of foreign currency. Public investment in agriculture and government spending allocated to the sector were lower than in other countries in the region. Political elites have generally lacked commitment to development plans in the sector. Political developments in Sudan have disrupted more recent efforts to revitalize the sector. Climate change, as manifested in rising temperature, declining rainfall, and drought, is a substantial determinant currently affecting the sector. The paper discusses some broad recommendations for improving the performance of the Sudanese agricultural sector.

The Profits of Power

The Profits of Power
Author: Christopher Udry
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

We examine the impact of ambiguous and contested land rights on investment and productivity in agricultural in Akwapim, Ghana. We show that individuals who hold powerful positions in a local political hierarchy have more secure tenure rights, and that as a consequence they invest more in land fertility and have substantially higher output. The intensity of investments on different plots cultivated by a given individual correspond to that individual's security of tenure over those specific plots, and in turn to the individual's position in the political hierarchy relevant to those specific plots. We interpret these results in the context of a simple model of the political allocation of land rights in local matrilineages.

Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture

Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture
Author: Pascal Liu
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Substantial increases in agricultural investments in developing countries are needed to combat poverty and realize food security and nutrition goals. There is evidence that agricultural investments can generate a wide range of developmental benefits, but these benefits cannot be expected to arise automatically and some forms of large-scale investment carry risks for host countries. Although there has been much debate about the potential benefits and risks of international investment, there is no systematic evidence on the actual impacts on the host country and their determinants. In order to acquire an in-depth understanding of potential benefits, constraints and costs of foreign investment in agriculture and of the business models that are more conducive to development, FAO has undertaken research in developing countries.This publication summarizes the results of this research, in particular through the presentation of the main findings of case studies in nine developing countries. It presents case studies on policies to attract foreign investment in agriculture and their impacts on national economic development in selected countries in Africa, Asian and Latin America.