Title: Conservation Agriculture in the Sinnar State of the Sudan. David Feindel, Cropping systems Agronomist,

ICARDA, Amman, Jordan.

During June-July 2012 an ICARDA Agronomist traveled to the Sudan at the request of ICARDA Sudan,

following a request from IFAD (Sudan) and the Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Sudan to backstop the IFAD

SUSTAIN (Supporting the Small-Scale Traditional Rainfed Producers in Sinnar State) project. The terms of

reference (ToR), as set out, refer to a review of the conservation agriculture (CA) applied research component of the

overall project.

The project is focused on Sinnar State, Sudan, mainly in the Governates of Dinder, Abu Hujar, and Dali &

Mazmoun. Within these regions, and based on baseline studies, 100 villages, composed of the poorest of the poor

were selected to focus new farming and social programs to improve the livelihoods of the residents of these villages.

Within this region, crop yields have declined over the past several decades, in part through the use of tillage that has

contributed to a degradation of the soil structure and quality, resulting in a reduction in fertility, water infiltration,

and water holding capacity.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a systems approach to farming that has the potential to reverse the trend of

soil degradation by eliminating tillage and managing residue and crops. It is a proven technique in many regions of

the world and is gaining acceptance throughout the regions of CWANA and sub-Saharan Africa.

The major constraints to CA in many countries are access to zero-tillage seeders and the local capacity of staff

trained in a CA systems approach. One of the objectives of the SUSTAIN Project is to import zero-tillage seeders

and establish an applied research program on CA. This will be the first step in; A/ demonstrating zero -tillage

seeders and CA to research staff, private industry, and farmers, and B/ answering key research questions on t he

applicability of CA to improve soil productivity in the region.