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Series of steps:
HE Dr. Abu Bakr Omar Al-Bishri, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Sudan, and the accompanying technical delegation held discussions with HE Dr. Nasr Al-Din Al-Obeid, Director of the Arab Center for Arid Zones and Dry Lands Studies “ACSAD”, at the headquarters of the Arab Center for ACSAD, who presented the cooperative relations between the two parties and the ways to develop and strengthen them in various fields, in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Hassan, Sudanese Ambassador to Damascus, Chairman of the Farmers’ Union, Secretary General of the Arab Union of Farmers and Agricultural Cooperatives, Head of the Syndicate of Agricultural Engineers, and several Assistant Ministers.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Obeid briefly introduced the Centre’s programmes and projects in support of sustainable development efforts in Arab countries, particularly the Republic of Sudan.
The two sides conducted a comprehensive assessment of the joint activities and projects currently being implemented, in particular the Optimal Land Use Mapping project implemented by ACSAD for the Gezira, White Nile and Blue Nile states, which are considered important agricultural areas and represent the agricultural production basket of Sudan, including plants and animals, with the participation of more than 200 experts and capable people from both sides.
In his welcome speech, Dr. Obeid pointed out that the partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and various Sudanese federal, state and private institutions and the Arab Center for the Study of Drought (ACSAD) has been deeply rooted since 2003, and has been expanding and stabilizing since 2017. The current General Directorate of the Arab Center for the Study of Drought, which assumed its duties in 2020, has contributed to supporting Sudan’s efforts to achieve food security and progress in sync with global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and combat climate change through a wide range of activities and strengthening joint projects covering all aspects of agricultural scientific research, from expanding wheat cultivation using groundwater in the North and Nile states, to applying conservation agriculture systems by growing white maize in the Sennar and Gedaref states, rehabilitating deteriorated areas in North Kordofan State, improving camel milk production and marketing, disseminating biogas technology in Sudanese rural areas, and many more,
Obeid confirmed that one of the most important of these projects is the one for the preparation of the Sudan’s Optimal Land Use Map, not only because of its comprehensiveness, but also because it constitutes a fundamental reference for the implementation of agricultural investment and development projects in all aspects of agricultural production and enables decision-makers to take appropriate decisions in this regard, explaining that he had previously implemented the first phase in the Eastern States (Red Sea – Kassala – Gedaref) with an area of 53 million hectares, the second phase in the states (Khartoum – North – Nile) with an area of 50 million hectares, and the third phase, like the previous two phases, is being implemented with the full cooperation and coordination of Sudanese experts, combining scientific methods and modern technologies, hoping that the project can be completed in Greater Kordofan and Darfur after the signing of the annex to the project agreement that includes the Darfur region and its five states.
His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Sudan expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Arab Centre for Drought Research and its staff and expressed the hope that this meeting would contribute to raising the cooperative relationship between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Arab Centre for Drought Research to the best level. He praised the important role played by the Arab Centre for Drought Research in achieving Arab food and water security, as well as the level it has reached in terms of scientific and practical performance, especially in recent times, and the high level of trust it has received and the status it has achieved in all areas of its work.
The meeting concluded with a technical presentation of the project components, covering land, water, livestock and plant resources, highlighting the most important issues facing these resources and ways to address them, bring them into scope production, increase productivity and stimulate local, regional and international agricultural investments.
After the report, the delegation visited biotechnology, palm tissue culture and other laboratories and expressed admiration for the modern technology of these laboratories.
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