{"id":20026465,"date":"2023-01-20T13:46:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T12:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20026465"},"modified":"2023-03-06T20:14:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T19:14:38","slug":"el-gezira-scheme-director-accuses-sudans-agricultural-bank-of-withholding-intl-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/el-gezira-scheme-director-accuses-sudans-agricultural-bank-of-withholding-intl-grant","title":{"rendered":"El Gezira Scheme director accuses Sudan’s Agricultural Bank of withholding int’l grant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WAD MADANI \u2013 January 20, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The\u00a0director of the Agricultural Department of the El Gezira Scheme, Ibrahim Mustafa, has accused Sudan\u2019s Agricultural Bank of obstructing the arrival of fertilisers granted by the African Development Bank to the farmers in the region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The granted seeds and fertilisers are enough to cultivate 45,000 feddans, he explained to Radio Dabanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The African Development Bank stipulated these inputs be distributed free of charge to the farmers by the scheme\u2019s management, Mustafa said. \u201cThe seeds have been received but the fertilisers not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that the African Development Bank implemented the grant through the World Food Programme and entrusted the purchase of fertilisers to the Agricultural Bank, not through the El Gezira Agricultural Scheme\u2019s own management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Agricultural Bank now refuses to hand the fertilisers to the scheme\u2019s management and instead demands the payment of SDG265 million first, which is the cost of transporting the fertilisers from Port Sudan plus administrative fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder the current circumstances, we do not have this amount,\u201d Mustafa said. \u201cThe Agricultural Bank rejected the scheme\u2019s management proposal to accept a check for in a month\u2019s time, so that we can receive the fertilisers, distribute them, and at the same time collect the transportation costs from the farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that the support provided by the African Development Bank to the El Gezira Agricultural Scheme is equivalent to 52 per cent of the support provided to farms in the entire country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is significant, and that support is needed. Without fertilisers, farmers cannot cultivate their crops and the harvest might fail. The farmlands of the El Gezira Agricultural Scheme were of immense economic importance to Sudan in the past and still are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe El Gezira Scheme now lacks the capacity to even begin its cultivation process, while in the past it was achieving self-sufficiency for Sudan by the export of seeds and cotton, bringing in hard currency to the country\u2019s treasury,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two months ago, farmers and livestock owners involved in the El Gezira Agricultural Scheme discussed unionising<\/a> to defend their interests and address economic liberalisation of land ownership. Seven years ago, the Farmers Union was disbanded by the Al Bashir regime in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remnants of the former regime have been accused of sabotaging<\/a> the irrigation scheme and of mismanagement, corruption<\/a>, embezzlement, and looting of the scheme\u2019s resources. In late 2014, dictator Omar Al Bashir described the scheme as \u201ca burden on the country\u2019s budget\u201d and worked to transfer land ownership to the private sector and foreign investors and disbanded the Farmers Union.<\/p>\n