Agriculture

Around 80% work force of Sudan works for this section. Sudan’s main crops include cotton, peanuts (groundnuts), sesame, gum arabic, sorghum, and sugarcane. The main subsistence crops are sorghum and millet, with smaller amounts of wheat, corn, and barley. There are four distinct subsectors in Sudanese agriculture: modern irrigated farming, most of which is carried out with mechanized equipment on a large scale with the help of government investment; mechanized rain-fed crop production; traditional rain-fed farming; and livestock raising. Irrigated areas along the White and Blue Niles produce the bulk of the country’s commercial crops. These areas are centred on the Gezira Scheme (Al-Jazīrah)—with its Mangil extension—between the Blue and White Niles south of Khartoum. Other major farming areas are watered by the Khashm Al-Qirbah Dam on the Atbara River and by Al-Ruṣayriṣ Dam, which provides irrigation water for the Rahad Scheme.