Instability in agricultural production and its effects on farmers income [Sudan]
1996
Farih, A.A. (University of Khartoum. Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Rural Economics, Shambat (Sudan))
The agriculture is the leading sector of the Sudanese economy. It consists of three subsectors: the irrigated, the mechanised rainfed and the traditional rainfed. The producers in the Sudan are facing unstable net income from agricultural production. This is attributed mainly to changes in climatic and environmental conditions as well as unstable agriculture policies. This study investigates the causes of fluctuations in output and prices of the major agricultural commodities being the main factros behind the low and the unstable net income of agricultural producers. The study uses linear regression to measure trends and the degree of instability of the major variables that affect agricultural crops grown in Sudan such as total cost of production, gross revenue, prices and yield. The findings of the study are as follows: -Changes in agricultural production are mainly due to fluctuations in productivity per feddan which is influenced not only by technology but also by environmental factors such as the amount and distribution of rainfall, pests and diseases. -Fluctuations in production, yield and area are more pronounced in traditional rainfed crops than in mechanised rainfed crops. -Producer prices of raw export crops (cotton and gum arabic) fluctuate more heavily than those of food crops (grain and oil seeds crops).
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