A women's farming group in South Darfur is eyeing business opportunities with a nutritious cash crop.

Life for subsistence women farmers in Sudan's Darfur region can be tough, with such problems as drought, insecurity and the lack of decent-quality sorghum seeds, according to community leader Fathia Mohamed Ahmed.

Thanks to an African Development Bank scheme to equip poor farmers with modern, improved seeds, Ahmed's group of some two dozen women now face a brighter future and opportunities to expand their operations.

The Bank believes that introducing new types of seeds that are better suited to Sudan's hot and dry climate will increase agricultural production, help feed the country's 42 million people and boost its $177 billion economy.

Ahmed, the chairwoman of Al-Amel Agricultural Women Group Society in Edd Al Fursan district of South Darfur state, in the west of the country, praised a Bank scheme to run farmer training sessions for members of her collective.

"The training which we got through farmer field school was very important and useful for creating and developing our skills for better farming," Ahmed said.

As Ahmed tells it, financial support from global and regional organizations enabled her group to invest in farming sorghum, a grain suited to hot, dry conditions and a staple for many poor rural communities. Sorghum, also known as millet, typically grows to between 1 and 2 metres in height and yields a grain that is rich in carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients, and which can be made into porridge, flatbreads, and cakes.

The women received an improved variety of sorghum seeds known as Wad Ahmed from the Nyala Agricultural Research Station. The 120-day maturation time for the seeds roughly matches the length of South Darfur state's rainy season.

Ahmed said the group's members had struggled for survival before the funding from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. They used the funds to buy improved seeds, which they planted over 12 hectares in the 2019 rainy season.

According to Ahmed, the women's collective also received ongoing assistance from agronomists in the best way to turn their sorghum seeds into bountiful harvests that would help feed their families.

"During the growing season our group received seed extension services from research and extension personnel," said Ahmed. "As a result, our group produced about seven tons of quality certified seeds."

Thanks to this success in the fields, Ahmed said the project could well lay the groundwork for business expansion and trading sorghum at nearby markets for cash.

"It is an important breakthrough for the group to start our business. Now our goal is to promote our quality certified seed to the non-governmental organizations in the state to sell it for a premium price," said Ahmed.

"Our group is still in its infancy, but our focus is to grow and increase our agricultural business activities in the near future."

Agriculture is a vital sector of Sudan's economy. It accounts for 40 per cent of the national turnover and occupies four-fifths of the workforce. Sorghum and wheat provide more than half of the calories consumed each day by Sudanese people.

Still, the country's farmers have faced droughts, floods and other climate-related shocks in recent years, while also enduring conflict and political turbulence.

Bank researchers say that purpose-bred seeds and hybrids fare better against pests, floods and drought and offer smallholder farmers a chance to produce bigger harvests and make extra cash at markets.