Editing Economy of Sudan (section)

===Agriculture===
{{main|Agriculture in Sudan}}
[[Image:Sudanese man preparing land by traditional way.jpg|thumb|left|A Sudanese farmer]]
Primary resources are [[agricultural]], including [[cotton]], [[peanut]]s, [[gum arabic]], and [[Sesame|sesame seeds]]. Although the country is trying to diversify its cash crops, cotton and peanuts remain its major agricultural exports. Grain [[sorghum]] (dura) is the principal food crop, and [[wheat]] is grown for domestic consumption. Sesame seeds and peanuts are cultivated for domestic consumption and increasingly for export.

Three main agricultural sub-sectors are active in Sudan: [[pastoral]] [[livestock]], [[Crop farming|cropping]] and fish production.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/771411474649783837/pdf/103352-REVISED-SudanCountryEconomicMemorandumRealizingthePotentialforDiversifiedDevelopmentTheWorldBankWashingtonDC.pdf| title = Sudan Country Economic Memorandum}}</ref> [[Livestock]] production has vast potential, and many animals, particularly [[cattle|cows]], [[sheep]], and [[camel]]s, are exported to [[Saudi Arabia]] and other [[Arabs|Arab]] countries. However, Sudan remains a net importer of food. Problems of investment finance, production and transportation remain the greatest constraints to a more dynamic agricultural economy. A major problem which has been growing for decades is the continual loss of open lands previously used for animal grazing to [[mechanised agriculture|mechanized]] [[drylands]] and [[irrigated]] [[farming]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/771411474649783837/pdf/103352-REVISED-SudanCountryEconomicMemorandumRealizingthePotentialforDiversifiedDevelopmentTheWorldBankWashingtonDC.pdf| title = Agriculture and livestock: Key for economic diversification}}</ref>

Sudan has 84 million hectares of arable land and less than 20% is cultivated. Major agricultural projects such as the Gezera Scheme in [[Al Jazirah (state)|Gezira]] state are underway in order to make Sudan food self-sufficient. Sudan is one of the world's potential breadbaskets and Sudan is nicknamed as the Arab world food basket as it accounts for 45% of arable land in the Arab world.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-19|title=Sudan: The Land of Two Niles {{!}} Islamic Relief UK|url=https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/sudan-the-land-of-two-niles/|access-date=2021-05-15|language=en}}</ref> In 1998 there was an estimated {{convert|16.9|e6ha|e6acre|abbr=unit}} of arable land and approximately {{convert|1.9|e6ha|e6acre|abbr=unit}} set aside for irrigation, primarily in the north of the country along the banks of the [[Nile]] and other rivers.

[[Cash crops]] (as of 1999) grown under irrigation in these areas include [[cotton]] and [[cottonseed]], which is of primary importance to the economy with 172,000 tons and 131,000 tons produced annually respectively,<ref name="Nations">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Sudan-AGRICULTURE.html|title=Sudan Agriculture|publisher=Nations Encyclopedia|access-date=August 30, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081007185823/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Sudan-AGRICULTURE.html| archive-date= 7 October 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> [[sesame]] (220,000 tons), [[sugarcane]] (5,950,000 tons), [[peanut]]s (980,000 tons), [[Phoenix dactylifera|dates]] (176,000 tons), [[citrus fruits]], [[Yam (vegetable)|yams]] (136,000 tons), tomatoes (240,000 tons), [[mangoes]], [[coffee]], and [[tobacco]].<ref name="Nations"/> The main subsistence crops produced in Sudan are [[sorghum]] (3,045,000 tons), [[millet]] (1,499,000 tons), [[wheat]] (168,000 tons), [[cowpeas]], [[beans]], [[pulses]], [[maize|corn]] (65,000), and [[barley]].<ref name="Nations"/> Cotton is the principal export crop and an integral part of the country's economy and Sudan is the world's third largest producer of sesame after India and China.<ref name="Nations"/>