Cultivating the desert: irrigation expansion and groundwater abstraction in northern state, Sudan
This study examines the socioeconomic features that underpin the expansion of groundwater-dependent irrigation in Northern State, Sudan. Groundwater development in the region serves as an economic lifeline given the poor Nile-based irrigation infrastructure and future changes in Nile hydrology. Groundwater-dependent irrigation is found to be expanding in previously uncultivated regions increasingly distant from the Nile. The study finds these historically marginal lands are targeted for capital-intensive agricultural projects because landholding patterns in traditionally cultivated areas preclude new large developments and improved infrastructure has lowered farming costs in distant terraces. Private companies and large landholders have a history of successful agricultural ventures in Northern State and are reliant on easily accessible and reliable groundwater resources for these new farms.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2016
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| Subjects: | groundwater, water resources, water use, water policy, water allocation, cultivated land, deserts, irrigation, surface irrigation, agriculture, irrigated farming, land tenure, land ownership, socioeconomic environment, infrastructure, hydrogeology, state intervention, wheats, |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78149 https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol9/v9issue1/308-a9-1-7/file |
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| Summary: | This study examines the socioeconomic features that underpin the expansion of groundwater-dependent irrigation in Northern State, Sudan. Groundwater development in the region serves as an economic lifeline given the poor Nile-based irrigation infrastructure and future changes in Nile hydrology. Groundwater-dependent irrigation is found to be expanding in previously uncultivated regions increasingly distant from the Nile. The study finds these historically marginal lands are targeted for capital-intensive agricultural projects because landholding patterns in traditionally cultivated areas preclude new large developments and improved infrastructure has lowered farming costs in distant terraces. Private companies and large landholders have a history of successful agricultural ventures in Northern State and are reliant on easily accessible and reliable groundwater resources for these new farms. |
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