December 17, 2009
Sudan bets big on agribusiness
In 2010, Sudan is expected to invest US$6-7 billion, in addition to the country being one of the centres of interest in the agricultural sector.
According to Sudan''s minister of state for investment Salman Suliman Alsaf, the country''s economy has been wracked by multiple civil wars, but a 2005 north-south peace deal brought in new foreign investment mostly from Asia and the Gulf, powering economic growth averaging 9% a year.
"A lot of countries have now started to enter into strategic partnerships with us in established projects," Alsafi said.
Persistent drought has driven millions of east Africans toward severe hunger and destitution, according to international aid agency Oxfam.
Alsafi added that the global financial crisis had cast a shadow on Sudan, weighing on investments from countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council that had previously poured in money. However, he remains uncertain over upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections even though it had not impacted investment.
Decades of civil war and sanctions have drained Sudan''s resources, and massive agricultural projects have decayed, but the arid Middle East and Gulf have long eyed the agricultural potential of the nation. Alsafi said Sudan had drawn interest from Arab Gulf and North African countries, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Libya.
Alsafi said Brazil had also entered as a strategic partner with Sudan in various fields such as agriculture and meat production.
"We expect the Brazilian partnership to be very big in the economy especially given the similarity of the situation in Brazil and Sudan in terms of the available potential in water, animal resources, in agricultural land," Alsafi said.
Over two-thirds of Sudan''s population are employed in the agricultural sector, the mainstay of the economy prior to the 1990s, when oil production began. Sudan has the Blue and White Nile rivers, heavy seasonal rains and large expanses of land.