Potentiality of Organic Perennial Crops Farms in the River Nile State of Sudan

Abstract

It is imperative to note that organic agriculture does not mean turning back the clock to a primitive mode of farming, but it does build on traditional knowledge and practices. It offers a modern, ecologically intensive farming system that can perform successfully without any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides to meet food security and poverty alleviation needs. In Sudan organic farming was carried out by the Arab Authority for Agricultural Development (2001) to produce food commodities free of agricultural pollutants, mainly for export. The certified organic lands area in Sudan is estimated at 200,000 hectare and 650 farms, accommodating different crops such as tropical fruits, groundnuts, but also cotton, herbs/spices, etc. (Lim, 2007). Since organic farming is feasible in the agricultural sub-sector, the aims should be its dissemination in the country and maximization of organic production. This paper considers the River Nile State (RNS) of Sudan as a case study. The RNS is considered as one of the main supplier of perennial�crop products in the country. The production of these crops in the State are faced by numerous shortcomings, namely low level of productivity, high cost of production and inefficiency in resources use. In RNS perennial crops are regarded as essential food and cash crops within the prevailing cropping systems. They also play an important role in the sustainability of the farming systems through natural resources conservation and its good returns to investment with expanded cultivable area. This paper aims to investigate the potentiality and feasibility of organic perennial crops in RNS. Beside secondary data, primary data was collected using structured questionnaires for 50 randomly selected respondents in the study area. Partial budgets were constructed to assess and compare the profitability of organic and conventional perennial crops. The results revealed that tenants would get numerous benefits from organic perennial crops compared with conventional production. The RNS tenants should therefore be encouraged to establish organic perennial farms instead of continuing their traditional way of investments and to be guided on how to grow organic products that give production and yield advantages, earn high returns and contribute significantly to farm sustainability and malnutrition alleviation in RNS.