The former Minister of Agriculture in Khartoum State in an interview with (Al-Ahdath): The war disrupted agricultural production

Policies that support and stimulate the sector must be adopted

Dialogue – Nahid Oshi

The former Minister of Agriculture and Livestock in Khartoum State, Taj El-Din Othman, revealed the effects of the war that broke out on April 15 last year on the agricultural sector in the state.
He said that restoring the agricultural sector in Khartoum State to its previous state requires concerted efforts by federal and state government agencies, and the burden also falls on the union and professional organizations of farmers and producers. He touched on many agricultural sector issues in the following dialogue:

The effects of the war on the agricultural sector in Khartoum State?

This war affected the agricultural sector in the state, as it disrupted agricultural production and affected it to a large extent. It destroyed and damaged the sector’s infrastructure, which cost huge amounts of money to establish and cost enormous technical and human efforts. It stopped the process of development, modernization and prosperity that took place in the sector.
These are the most important direct damages to the sector. The war also affected the sub-sectors of agriculture to varying degrees. The traditional sectors suffered less damage, so the possibility of them returning to work and production again after the war stopped is greater and in less time because they do not have large infrastructure, such as the traditional agricultural sectors, natural resources, grazing, pastures, and Nile fish resources, but the contribution of these sectors to the state’s overall agricultural production is not large.
The sector also lost the private sector services it provides to farmers and producers, such as farm supervision services, laboratory and disease diagnosis services, veterinary care, improved seed services, pesticides, and agricultural chemicals, as well as soil testing services and agricultural land preparation, as well as marketing and dry and cooled transportation services were also lost.

What are the damages suffered by modern sectors?

The damage to the modern and semi-modern sectors is greater and their losses are severe. Therefore, reactivating them requires huge resources and takes a longer time, perhaps extending to years in some sectors, because these sectors have large and expensive infrastructure, and resuming their work requires a huge technical and human effort. In addition to the physical infrastructure of modern pumps, facilities, machines, equipment, etc., it possesses assets in the form of enormous genetic resources that have been localized and adapted over many years until they have become highly productive in local conditions, such as the modern dairy production sector and improved goats.
Also, the poultry industry sector has made great strides towards the localization of the poultry industry and the completion of its many links, especially the localization of the production of poultry farms and breeds in the state.
Therefore, such modern activities may not return to what they used to be, and may require years of effort and hard work.
As for indirect damages, they include the interruption of public utility services, such as roads and public electricity. They also include the weakness or interruption of government services represented in agricultural and animal extension services, plant protection services, and animal vaccination, as well as services for the rehabilitation and care of agricultural cooperative societies, and credit services and bank financing.

Will the agricultural sector recover its previous state?

Despite the enormity of the disaster and the destruction that occurred, the hope is that the agricultural sector will return once again to produce and prosper. It has been said that grants come with adversity, and that gifts follow calamities (after hardship comes ease), and perhaps this will be an opportunity to rebuild the agricultural sector on more foundations. Modernity contributes to its launch with strength and stability, and is as harmful as it is beneficial, as happened to the poultry sector in 2006 during the bird flu disaster that swept the sector in Khartoum State. Despite the enormity of the event, what followed in the poultry sector was amazing, as the sector made a qualitative shift towards modernization. It has actually become a sector of the poultry industry, which has led to huge leaps in the quantity and quality of poultry products.

How to rebuild the agricultural sector?

Restoring the agricultural sector in Khartoum State to its previous state requires concerted efforts to achieve this goal by federal and state government agencies. The burden also falls on the union and professional organizations of farmers and producers. There must also be a role for society, especially the media. The state must provide the necessary resources for rehabilitation through loans and grants that are expected to come, as well as facilitating local bank financing, and adopting supportive and stimulating policies for the sector.
As for farmers and producers, they must organize themselves and communicate with the competent authorities and organizations to attract aid and be enlightened about the problems and obstacles they face. They must also encourage their members to engage in agricultural work and quickly return to production. Society as a whole, especially the media, must stand with this issue and communicate its voice, problems, and grievances to the concerned authorities.