AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CORPORATION (ARC)
  
SUDAN

 

History:

Agricultural Research in the Sudan dates back to beginning of the last century. The earliest experimental farms were started at Shendi in 1902 and at El Kamlin in 1903 to explore the possibilities of growing irrigated cotton in the northern Sudan. Shortly afterwards, more experimental farms were started at Rumbek, Tonj and Wau, primarily to test cotton under rain-fed conditions in the southern Sudan.

Organized scientific research was started in 1903 with the establishment of the Welcome Tropical Research Laboratories (WTRL). They were part of the Department of Education but their activities included chemical and entomological research related to agriculture. A year later, the Department of Agriculture established the Shambat Research Farm near Khartoum to conduct botanical and agronomic research in close cooperation with the WTRL. Following the successful pilot schemes and experiments on cotton in the Gezira region, the Gezira Research Farm was established near Wad Medani in 1918 to cater for the problems of long staple cotton in the irrigated central clay plains.

Since that time the Gezira Research Farm has served as headquarters for organizations of agricultural research that have gone through evolutionary changes in names and in scope. It was called the Agricultural Research Service in 1931-38, the name was changed to Agricultural Research Institute in 1939-1943, to Research Division in 1943- 1953 and to the semi-autonomous Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC) in 1967. In 2001, the ARC became part of the newly formed Ministry of Science and Technology, which was established in 2001, by amalgamating several research institutions that existed within several Government Ministries. 

Vision:

The vision of the ARC is to become a centre of excellence in agricultural research by developing skilled manpower and conducting quality research to generate technologies that would ensure sustainable crop production, and to play an active role in technology transfer process.

 Mission:

The mission of the ARC is to plan, develop and implement research designed to produce technologies and systems that are required to ensure high and sustainable crop productivity, food security and export capacity.

Mandate:

The ARC is entrusted with applied agricultural research on food and industrial crops, forestry, livestock and food technology, and with ecological and regional responsibilities to develop sustainable production systems in the Sudan.

 Goals:

The ARC works in cooperation with other national institutions towards achievement of food security, alleviation of poverty, generation of incomes, promotion of agricultural export and conservation of natural resources. 

Objectives:

  • To generate, develop and adapt agricultural technologies that focus on the needs of the over all agricultural development and its beneficiaries;
  • To manage and conserve the soil and water resources in the country for sustainable and productive agriculture.
  • To build up a research capacity and establish a system that will make agricultural research efficient, effective and based on development needs;
  • To play an active role in dissemination of agricultural research results.

International lnkages:

Over the years, the Sudan has enjoyed considerable support, mainly in the form of joint research projects, germplasm exchange and capacity building, from the following international organizations:

·          International agricultural research centers under the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research CGIAR: IITA, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, IRRI, CIAT, ISNAR, ILRI, IFPRI, IWMI, ICRAF, CIP, IPGRI, ICARDA, WARDA.

·    Regional agricultural research associations e.g. ASARECA, ARRINENA

·          Intergovernmental Organizations: FAO, IAEA, UNDP, UNEP. IFAD.

·          Organizations for international cooperation: USAID, CABI, ODA, CIRAD, DFID, DAAD, GTZ, JICA, SIDA, FINNIDA, DANIDA, CTA.

·          Financing institutions:  such as World Bank, IFAD, IDRC, UNDP, Islamic Development Bank, African Development Bank

National Linkages:

ARC works in close collaboration with the following local institutions and stakeholders in order to promote a viable and sustainable agricultural sector:

  • Universities, e.g. University of Khartoum, University of Gezira, Sudan University for Science and Technology, Juba University and Kordufan University.
  • Farmers’ unions, e.g. Gezira and Managil Farmers’ Union
  • State and Federal Ministries of Agriculture
  • Other MOST institutions, e.g. Animal Wealth Research Corporation, National Research Council)
  • Non-governmental organizations, e.g. The Sudanese Society for environmental Protection. Sudan Practical action, Sudanese Society for Organic agriculture.

 

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