UNESCO category II regional center for capacity development and research in water harvesting
Experts Meeting of the Research Project: Water Harvesting for Integrated Large-Scale Agricultural Activities in Gadarif State
June 15th, 2022. The Grand Holiday Hotel
Objectives: The meeting aimed to present and to validate the findings and outcomes of the research project, which aimed to investigate the application of Macro Water Harvesting techniques for the provision of supplementary irrigation in the rain-fed agricultural schemes in Gadarif to overcome the problems associated with the dry spells taking into account the Climate Change impacts, Support the sustainability of farm production and rangeland enhancement which will in turn contribute to food security, people settlement, and peace plans.
Participation: The meeting was attended by 100 participants from Khartoum and Gadarif States. Key stakeholders in the Sudanese water and agriculture related governmental and private sectors, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Gadarif State Ministry of Production and Economic Resources, project farmers representatives, environmental specialists, decision makers, academics, researchers, community representatives, UN Agencies, International Organizations and NGOs.
Outcomes: The Importance of adopting the water harvesting techniques for macro-catchment areas, developing existing water harvesting projects, technical assessment of the existing traditional irrigation systems at targeted sites to evaluate its suitability to receive the harvested water and capacity building programs targeting farmers and other stakeholders to increase their willingness to adopt those techniques to ensure the sustainability of agricultural and livestock production, Implementation of possible off-season cultivation (winter season, aqua-culture, and animal production) with the application of macro water harvesting techniques.
