Sugar Beet and the Missed Opportunities

Adel Al-Rifai Abu Al-Hassan
At the heart of the Agricultural Development Authority’s philosophy and strategy was introducing new crops to the Northern State and River Nile State, testing their suitability to the agricultural environment, and then expanding their cultivation and applying them in other parts of Sudan whose conditions matched each crop. The objective went beyond diversifying agricultural production to building new economic activities linked to manufacturing, generating income and employment opportunities, and increasing value added within Sudan.
Within this framework, the sugar beet experiment was undertaken in Al-Hamadab and New Amri. The experiment produced successful, impressive results, demonstrating that sugar beet was well suited to the area and that a high-sugar crop could be produced. Through an experimental farm dedicated to sugar beet, different seed varieties were tested and the most suitable ones identified. The appropriate planting periods were also determined, along with the types of fertilisers, their application schedules, and the doses best suited to the area’s soil.
Samples of the produce were sent to the Kenana Sugar Factory in Gezira State for analysis. The results showed that the sugar content exceeded 18%, whereas the rate specified at the time by the expert responsible for the project was around 17%, as the required level for production. The result is particularly significant because it was achieved despite the crop being transported over a long distance for several hours under less-than-ideal conditions. This further strengthens the evidence generated by the experiment.
The experiment was not confined to the agricultural dimension; it also extended to developing an economic vision for the project. It was possible to determine the required production areas, the mechanism for cultivating and collecting the crop, the involvement of farmers, and an initial concept for establishing a sugar factory using sugar beet as its raw material. This made clear the essential elements needed to move from an experiment to a full-scale project.
The project’s implementation could also benefit from existing infrastructure established by the Authority as part of the projects accompanying the Merowe Dam. This meant that the cost of the experiments was kept to a minimum, almost negligible, substantially reducing the cost of testing a new crop and assessing the potential for expanding its cultivation.
The area has all the basic requirements for expansion: land, water, agricultural expertise and farmers. Producers could be organised into co-operative associations responsible for coordinating cultivation, collecting the crop and delivering it to the factory. This would provide farmers with a new source of income and an organised market, while ensuring the project a stable supply of raw materials.
The factory could be established through a flexible partnership between the state, the private sector, and farmers, or through another investment structure that serves all parties’ interests and ensures the project’s sustainability. What matters is to arrive at a model in which all parties benefit: the farmer becomes a partner in the value they create, the investor receives an attractive return, and the state secures sustainable economic and industrial value.
The project’s benefits go beyond sugar production. Introducing sugar beet as a new crop would provide an additional income source for farmers and people resettled in the area. It would help stabilise their livelihoods and build a growing economic activity, while also creating jobs and generating industries and services connected with agriculture, collection, transport and manufacturing.
At the national level, the project would add an essential commodity to domestic production, increase value added and support the economy. As cultivated areas and output expand, it would create opportunities for industries linked to the crop and, subsequently, for export expansion. In this way, the benefits would extend from the farmer and the local area to the Sudanese economy as a whole.
At the same time, the sugar beet experience reveals the value of the work previously undertaken by the Agricultural Development Authority. Other crops have been tested and studied, and these experiments can now be catalogued and reassessed in light of current circumstances, with those most ready to move into production selected as priorities.
This is where the state’s strategic role comes in: building on what has already been achieved, turning successful experiments into projects, projects into industries, and industries into sustainable productive sectors.
What is therefore required today is to reopen the sugar beet file, update its economic and technical studies, select the appropriate implementation and partnership model, and then begin expansion according to a clear programme. At the same time, the other agricultural opportunities already demonstrated to be viable should be identified and ranked by priority, expected returns, and speed of implementation.
Sugar beet is not merely a new crop; it is a model for how a proven agricultural opportunity can be transformed into industry, income, stability, value added and exports.
The opportunity exists, the experiment has succeeded, the necessary resources are available, and the concept is already there. The next step is implementation.

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