compensate for losses caused by the
drop in soil fertility.
Ploughing: Animal-drawn ploughs,
mainly donkey drawn, have been
introduced and adapted by many farmers
in the area to reduce dependency on
inanimate power in the overall farming
process.
Inter-cropping: This technique to
produce a variety of crops from the
same plot of land is being practised by
farmers as the best way of exploiting
available resources.
Water Harvesting: Farmers have started
to copy terrace building from other
farmers in their area who are using
existing local knowledge in water
harvesting.
Diversification of Products: Growing
more than one crop in the same plot
means that part of the farm can be
allocated for millet, another for sesame
and a third for sorghum.
Farming on Different Plots: Some
farmers are choosing to plant in small
plots in different areas and different
directions.
Cultivation of Wadi Lands: With the
decline in soil fertility, and hence
productivity, farmers have moved to
make use of the more fertile wadi clay
soils.
Using Early Mature Crop Varieties:
Because of the unreliability of rainfall
and the fluctuations in the rainy season,
farmers have been forced to grow early
mature seeds.
Planting of Nitrogen-fixing Plants:
Farmers use cowpeas both as food and
as a nitrogen-fixing plant to enrich the
soil.
II. THE NEED TO RETAIN
MORE WATER
AS is the case in most regions of
the arid zone, North Darfur faces
the problem of acute deficit in its water
balance. The greatest part of the state is
desert and semi-desert, with 10–12 arid
months annually. The rest of the state
has 8–9 arid months. The prevailing
aridity of North Darfur constitutes the
most important precondition for the
process of desertification. For farmers
in the area, the need for water in
domestic use and cultivation has forced
them to try and adapt their practices and
conserve more water.
Potentially, the water resources in
Darfur are estimated at 31 Million
cubic metres only 0.5% of it is being
exploited at about 5 litres/person/day,
which represents only 25% of the
recommended minimum required
average consumption per individual.
60% of the water is consumed by the
33 million heads of livestock. The
equivalence of 150-240 days a year
of families’ time is spent in water
collection. (Dr. Hamid Omer, Al
Ayamm daily newspaper, issue 8151,
March 2005).
6
PRACTICAL ANSWERS
TO POVERTY