Impacts of Formal Financing on the Development of the Sudanese Agricultural Sector (in Arabic)

Abstract:     
The agricultural sector of Sudan is faced by many problems. In the irrigated schemes, the government who officially owns most of them there are entrenched managerial problems that brewed for more than six decades. Moreover, the privatization policies of those schemes provoked many outcries and protests. Large schemes like Gezira have collapsed, this year 2011, only 10% of its over one million hectares were cultivated. The rainfed farming is not different with lack of machinaries, shortages of available labor and high priced agricultural inputs, it is not expected to fare better than the irrigated schemes. However, even if those problems were solved the main chronic impediment remains which is appropriate financing, e.g., lower interest rates, availability and accessibility remain unsolved. The paper discusses the formal financing issues for the agriculture in Sudan. Empirical analysis is carried out which showed that there are problems in the previously described parameters, interest rates, availability and accessibility. The first, even with Islamic financing forms showed with high interest rates. The second, availability showed that with the available institutions there are problems due to available banking branches and collateral availability. Accessibility remains a difficult task because only large-size landholders have the privilege.

Note: Downloadable document is in Arabic.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 31

Keywords: Sudan, Agricultural Development, Productivity, Credit, Financing, Islamic Finance

JEL Classification: N17, N5, N50, N57, E5, E6, E50, E51, E52, E53, E57, E59, E60, E69

working papers series