Posted on June, 28, 2021 at 04:51 pm
Khartoum — A study conducted by the agriculture and livestock chambers of the Sudanese Businessmen Union has concluded that Sudan can collect the worth of $6 Billion in groundnut export proceeds if the commodity's production is promoted.
A conference organized Thursday by the Sudan Businessmen Union and its two affiliate chambers deliberated upon the promotion of groundnut production, manufacturing and marketing to achieve the returns in hard currency indicated in the study.. Sudan had used to rank high in the world list of its producers and exporters. But this position of Sudan has retreated in recent years with the country now ranking the fifth among groundnut producers. China tops the world countries in this commodity's production. In 2019 Sudan earned 205.7 million dollar from groundnut exports.
The groundnut conference was mainly concerned with uplifting agricultural activity in Sudan, starting with the economically crucial groundnuts, according to the chairman of the agriculture and livestock chambers, Engineer Ahmed Abdelrahman Aldooma.
Aldooma said the area now cultivated with groundnuts does not exceed 8,250,000 acres in both the rain-fed and the perennially irrigated areas, with an average output that does not exceed 200 kilograms of groundnut per acre.
"With a little use of farming technology we can increase productivity per acre in a way that effects a radical change in groundnut output and agricultural output in general," he said.
In the same token, Munthir Mohammad Hamadalneel of the agriculture chamber said it is the first time for a conference with this magnitude to be held in Sudan, which was prompted by the vast challenges and suffering endured by the farmers and the huge deterioration in the groundnut sector.
He said the conference was aimed at discussing the problems facing groundnut production with a view to finding remedies for them in a bid to achieve the aspired to agricultural renaissance.
Chairman of the Sudan Businessmen Union Hashim Salah Hassan Matar said the conference was part of the private sector's endeavor to support the transitional period of Sudan through the promotion of the agriculture sector to address the structural problems of the economy and narrow the gap in the country's trade balance.
Groundnut production is seeing yet another boost when the North Kordofan agricultural research unit at the city of Alobayyid produced drought-resisting groundnut seeds with assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency, in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Experimentation on the project had started two years ago in Kordofan (Midwest of Sudan), a district experiencing a wave of drought and which produces 70 percent of the country's groundnut output.
Groundnut, also known with the scientific name
Arachis hypogaea, grows up between one to three feet high with a yellow flower and stalks that dangle towards the soil. Its long pods (with each containing two -three grains) mature inside the soil.
Groundnut is rich in fats (44-56 percent) and for this much of it is pressed into cooking oil around the World. The crop enters into a lot of industries and food substances in the form of groundnut butter and roast and boiled groundnut.
It is also a good source of protein and contains 22-30 percent of calories.
Groundnut is also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals of sorts that include pectin, vitamins B3, B9 and H, in addition to a content of copper and manganese.
It is also used as animal fodder and soil fertilizer.
Source: SudaNow