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Waiting for Rain

Supporting rural community-driven adaptation in Sudan

September 21^st, 2015

In Seraj Alnour and Wad Hassan in Gedarif State, Sudan, rural villagers depend on raising livestock and growing crops for their livelihoods. After several centuries of nomadic lifestyles, this way of life is still new to them. They settled in these villages only recently after grappling with increasingly scarce natural resources and restricted migratory routes owing to new borders with South Sudan. As a result, these communities are prone to poverty, and rely primarily on rain-fed agriculture for sustenance.

The village of Seraj Alnour, Gedarif State Sudan

The villagers in Wad Hassan, Gedarif State Sudan

Children of Siraj Alnour playing with visitors, who they welcome with big smiles and warm hospitality

Threats to Sudan’s fertile lands

Traditionally, Gedarif State in Eastern Sudan is one of the most productive areas in the country, sometimes called the “granary” of Sudan for its production of sorghum, sesame and millet. However, recent climatic trends have put a strain on these livelihoods, as rain does not come as early or as often as it used to.

“Securing enough water is an essential need every day,” said Fatima Abdullah, a grandmother from Siraj Alnour. She described her twice-daily ritual of travelling two to three hours per day by donkey to purchase water: “I face the burning sun heat, rocks and muddy road… Going downhill and uphill with water containers is very tiring…we feel exhausted from being thirsty, tired and weak. ..[and It] is never enough to meet daily need for making food, washing, irrigating plants and animal feed, and bathing.”

With the region’s high dependence on rainfed crops, decreasing rainfall due to climate change means that communities are struggling to meet basic needs.

Fatima Abdullah, grandmother from Siraj Alnour, struggles to get enough water for her family.

Women in Wad hassan fetching water at a local well

Gedaris State is known for its agricultural production, particularly sesame crops

Strengthening adaptive capacities of rural communities

To alleviate the current and anticipated strains on water and food security, the Higher Council of Environment and Natural Resources (HECNR) in Sudan partnered with UNDP to build the resilience and adaptive capacity of rural communities, including Seraj Alnour and Wad Hassan.

With support from the Government of Canada under the Canada-UNDP Climate Change Adaptation Facility, and the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund, the project “Implementing Priority Interventions to Build Resilience in the Agricultural and Water Sectors to Climate Change” is working in 41 villages across four States of Sudan: River Nile, North Kordofan, South Darfur and the Gedarif.

Small practices with large impact

In Seraj Alnour, to help access water for drinking and cooking, a well and solar-powered pumping station was installed. This has helped reduce the burden on women, like Fatima Abdullah, and children who previously had to travel over 5km daily to collect water. In some cases, children were unable to attend school due to their water-gathering responsibilities, and are now free to continue their education.

“After the project provided us with a large water tank with a solar-powered pump, everything is now changed in our village” Fatima said.

In addition to meeting domestic needs, villagers can also use this water to irrigate small gardens, which have been introduced by the project to provide alternative livelihoods and enhance food security.

“Now I am no longer skipping my classes because the water problem is now solved,” said Badr Eldin, 9 year old from Siraj Alnour

A new solar pump was built in Seraj Alnour to provide additional water for small-scale irrigation and domestic use

Women fetch water from the solar pump, which now is located closer to her house

A small okra garden close to the village is irrigated by the newly built solar pump while waiting for the late rainy season

Boys in Seraj Alnour peer into the small, protected garden that has been built under the project

In Wad Hassan, training has been provided on how to use improved seeds, and operate and maintain six newly-installed water pumps. A demonstration plot of 42 hectares has also been ploughed and prepared for cultivation with new agricultural practices. As a result, the village has increased productivity and water access during dry seasons.

“[W]e have been touched by the change and experienced the results of the project’s intervention. Using the water pumps has resulted in an increase of 40,000 SDG [~6,600 USD] of revenue, compared to only 4,000 SDG [~660 USD] before. Now we know that we can make a difference,” said Haj Ahmed, leader of the farmer’s group in Wad Hassan.

Water pumps provided to the farmers in Wad Hassan to help irrigate the crops

These techniques help maintain moisture in the soil and require less water

Haj Ahmed, leader of the farmer group, presenting the water harvesting fields in Wad Hassan Village

Locally-driven, Locally-owned

All of the activities introduced are designed and implemented through Village Development Committees, led by elected members of the village.

Idris Ahmed Abdalla, head of the Village Development Committee in Seraj Alnour, reports back on project activities

Women in Seraj Alnour participate in the Village Development Committee meeting

Khalid H. I. Hmid, Project Coordinator for Gedarif state, consults with the VDC in Wad Hassan to adjust, add and strengthen these activities

A VDC representative in Wad Hassan discussed the project activities - ensuring that they are based on the needs of the villagers

Women’s meeting in Wad Hassan, discussing their role in project implementation

TESTING APPROACHES FOR REPLICATION & SCALING UP

The project is also supporting similar activities in three other states of Sudan, each with unique agro-ecological conditions. Testing new locally-driven adaptation strategies across different contexts provides a range of valuable lessons which can be replicated and scaled up.

In River Nile State, the project has supported planting of shelterbelts in three villages, to protect crop fields, using drip irrigation for the first time in Sudan.

In North Kordofan, women manage newly introduced tree nurseries for sand dune fixation to protect agricultural fields

In South Darfur, the project introduced 33.5 tons of early maturing Sorghum varieties to increase productivity under shorter rainy season

In River Nile State, shelterbelts were planted in to protect crop fields, watered by drip irrigation from solar water pumps

Sudan is one of six countries participating in the global Canada-UNDP Climate Change Adaptation Facility (CCAF), alongside Cambodia, Cabo Verde, Haiti, Mali, Niger and Sudan. All six CCAF projects similarly aim to strengthen resilience in the agricultural and water sectors, with an emphasis on gender-sensitive approaches.

The CCAF supports documentation of results and sharing lessons learned. For more information on the project in Sudan, visit the UNDP Project Profile: Building Climate-Resilience in Agriculture and Water Sectors in Sudan. For more information on the CCAF, visit the overall profile here.

Footnotes

Text and photos by: Jennifer Baumwoll and UNDP Sudan; Editing support: Andrea Egan

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FootNotes

Text and photos by: Jennifer Baumwoll and UNDP Sudan; Editing support: Andrea Egan

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Waiting for Rain

Supporting rural community-driven adaptation in Sudan

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