DOHA: Qatar is one of the leading investors in the agricultural sector in Sudan, says a former minister of irrigation of Egypt.

Mahmoud Abu Zaid is currently chairman of Arab Water Council. The Arab world is rich in water resources and agriculture. It’s lands are fertile. This is especially true of Sudan which is indeed the food basket of the Arab world.

Such resources are in need of capital-intensive investment as well as management. So the government and the private sector have already begun setting up food growing and processing projects in Sudan.

The investors in Sudan, which are commercial entities and not individuals, are all from Arab countries. Qatar has the largest investment in Sudan’s agricultural sector besides having investment in other areas of economy.

Other GCC states which have sizeable presence in Sudan through their investments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Abu Zaid said in Cairo that there is the need to support the private sector by providing the necessary political backing to protect and encourage investments.

He pointed out that the Arab world is the largest importer of food in the world and is so affected by international food price fluctuations.

Speaking about water, he said that 80 percent of water requirements of the Arab world is sourced from other countries. A good example is the Nile which is the longest river in the world but its source is from the Victorian lake and Ethiopian highlands.

Also, the water available to Syria and Iraq are sourced from Turkey. So Abu Zaid said that there is the need to have a strategy in place to preserve and exploit the water resources of the Arab world.

In remarks to Al Sharq correspondent in Cairo, the former Egyptian minister talked of various projects being launched with NASA and World Bank to use satellite images to estimate the water resources of the Arab world for preservation and exploitation.

A number of programmes have been launched to train people in the Arab world in the realm of water management in collaboration with international organizations. Irrigation systems in the Arab is generally outdated so there is a need to modernise them, said Abu Zaid. Source: (The Peninsula)

Habi Hazaimeh from the Jordan Times reports that an updated feasibility study on a Jordanian Government-led mega-project to invest in Sudanese agricultural lands has been finalised.

“The study was expected to be sent to the Cabinet last week, however, the change of government put it on hold. We are optimistic about the project and we believe that it will soon see the light of day,” Masri told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday.

He noted that the government is considering a proposal by a regional private sector company to participate in the project.

“We have been officially contacted by a financing and agricultural company based in the [Arab] Gulf, which showed interest in taking part in the Sudan project,” Masri said, stopping short of naming the potential partner.

In a previous statement to The Jordan Times, Masri said the main challenge facing the project’s implementation is securing the required funds for infrastructure. The government’s decision to go ahead with the project hinges on the findings of the feasibility study, which will determine the financial needs of the agricultural project, he said.

In early October, Masri stated that the Sudanese government intended to take back the land allocated for the mega-project, some 87,000 dunums, if Jordan did not implement it by the end of that month, more than a decade after the original deal was signed.

Sudan has yet to cancel the project, however, and Masri said yesterday the ministry has received “positive indications” from the Sudanese embassy in Amman that the Khartoum is considering a one-year extension of the deadline.

The feasibility of the project, which entails Jordan cultivating agricultural products near the Nile to be shipped directly to the Kingdom’s markets, needed to be reviewed due to the economic climate, according to the ministry.

The government conducted a $359,000 feasibility study on the project in 2003, funded by the Islamic Bank in Jeddah.

Citing the findings of that study, ministry officials have said that yields from the project would provide the Kingdom with at least 60 per cent of its annual needs of meat, 100 per cent of clover, 40 per cent of garlic, 100 per cent of bananas and 100 per cent of mangos. Source: (Jordan Times)

Asmara, In continuation of the existing cooperation of partnership between the governments of Eritrea and the PRC in various spheres for mutual benefit, the ministries of agriculture of the two countries today concluded an agreement on fostering cooperation in the domain of agriculture.

The agreement focusing on fostering cooperation in research and extension activities involves the introduction of select seeds, development of cotton, maize, fruits and vegetables production, in addition to boosting agricultural output and their processing, improvement of seeds, introduction of modern irrigation farming, repair of heavy agricultural machineries, human resource development, among others.

The agreement is also aimed at creating conducive ground for Chinese investors to invest in the agriculture sector in accordance with the Eritrean law, besides incorporating other major development programs.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Arefaine Berhe, on the Eritrean side, and the Chinese Ambassador to Eritrea, Mr. Li Liansheng, on the side of the PRC.

Speaking at the signing ceremony at the Agriculture Ministry’s Hall here in Asmara, Mr. Arefaine lauded the PRC for enhancing cooperation with the Eritrean Agriculture Ministry in various fields. He further explained that a number of Chinese agricultural experts are already visiting Eritrea to make due contribution for the realization of the envisaged development programs.

Ambassador Li Liansheng on his part cited that the agriculture sector is one of the priorities of the Eritrean government and expressed conviction that the cooperation of partnership would continue. Source: (Shabait)