Internal Technology Transfer in the Sudan: The Dichotomy Between Agricultural Research and Agricultural Practice

Sudan is the largest country in Africa' and boasts the largest farm in the world. Sudan is a predominately agricultural economy, agriculture employs more than eighty percent of the country's labour force and its industry. The national agricultural research institutions are charged with the key responsibility of implementing sustainable agricultural growth and development in Sudan. By adoption of demonstrable benefit farms, the research institutions view their contribution as providing improvements to traditional Sudanese practices rather than focusing on developing new techniques. Any research institution must have methods of improving farming practices and the pertinent test of their relevance is improved management practices.Crop productivity is extremely low and does not exceed thirty percent of the level attained in research or demonstration fields; the difficult economic position of the country has adversely affected the activities of the agricultural research institutions; technology generation is greatly hampered; the extension service is fragmented and its efforts are conned to a small number of farmers; the research institutions are weakened due to frequent staff turnover, lack of continuity in the research agenda and inadequacies in management and hence their impact is limited.The main purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the implementation capacity constraints which exist in formal agricultural research and the impact this has on the development of the agricultural sector of the Sudanese economy. The study also attempts to provide a better understanding of the relationships between low productivity in Sudan and the determinants of this.The data for this research were obtained from a field survey carried out in 1999. In the survey, a total of 120 farmers from the Gezira Scheme, 84 researchers from the Agricultural Research Corporation, 33 academic staff from the Gezira University as well as extensionists from the Central State were successfully interviewed.The research explores various aspects of the internal technology transfer system and the productivity gap in traditional agriculture. A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature on technology transfer has been conducted in the study.It is obvious that economic analysis alone will not provide a satisfactory solution to the type of problems investigated in the study as these issues and problems also have political and socio-cultural dimensions. Therefore, the proposed solutions simply seek to change the behaviours of both individuals and institutions. To do this it is necessary to recognise all the dimensions of the technology transfer problem.This study provides insights into the influence of demographic, socio-economic, cultural, technical and decision-making factors on technology transfer and productivity in Sudan. The thesis concludes with discussion of key policy implications and areas for further research. The findings of this research should assist in guiding planners and policy-makers in improving the internal technology transfer system and perhaps in enabling agricultural productivity to improve in the Sudan