Kassala — The productivity of the wheat crop in the New Halfa project for the season 2023-2024 has reached 285,527 sacks weighing 100 kilograms, while the average production per acre was 8 sacks. The acting Director of the New Halfa Agricultural Corporation, Engineer Al-Tahir Bastawi, said, in a statement to the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) that the harvest operations went well and with great cooperation among all participating parties, praising the role of economic Intelligence and other security agencies.

Engineer Bastawi affirmed that the percentage of repayment of the debt for the wheat crop amounted to more than 85% and that the collection in kind amounted to about 27,000 sacks and the remainder in cash, considering the market price was higher than the sack indicative price of 45,000 pounds.

Engineer Bastawi revealed that the preparations for the summer season in the proposed areas of 175,000 acres, adding that the area for peanuts is 45,000 acres, corn is 70,000 acres, the cotton crop is 30,000 acres, and 30,000 acres for the lentil crop.

Engineer Bastawi affirmed the availability of irrigation water, but there are problems in clearing the main canals, which constitutes a concern for delivering water to the northern sections of the project. He continued that there were efforts to introduce companies for contractual financing; the first one Sudanese Cotton Company to finance the cotton crop, in addition to national support to improve production of peanuts in an area of 14,000 acres, and 18,000 acres for the corn crop, were distributed to the 19 agricultural inspections, and now the targeted areas are being prepared so that the return on farmers will be good.

Engineer Bastawi stressed the administration's endeavor to provide all production inputs, appealing to agriculturalists and farmers to cooperate for the success of the project season. BH/BH