Policy Research Reports

Reconciling the Trade-Offs between Domestic Demand and Export Market: The Case of Sudan Dry-Land Agriculture

No.

0406

Date

June, 2004

Topic

N5. Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries

The primary objective of this research study is an attempt to examine the impact of public agricultural resource allocation policies on the agricultural sector focusing on food security. This focus is central to farmers in the dryland agriculture. The study critically reviewed and evaluated the evolution of agricultural and other economic policies that have shaped the agricultural sector in Kordofan region, western Sudan. It proceeded to assess the impact of these policies, putting emphasis on public resource allocation, on the production of food and export crops and farm income. Three reconciliation scenarios between domestic demand (food crops) and export market (cash crops) were investigated using a mathematical programming model for Kordofan agricultural sector, the area of study. These scenarios are the full consumption, the government export support and the mix scenarios. The findings of this research study call for fair reallocation of public resources, in particular the credit market, favoring the dry land agriculture by the policy makers. In addition, the study also has emphasized more specialization of the agricultural commodity supply based on comparative advantage by the various zones in the dry-land agriculture of the Sudan.