The management responsible for irrigation on the Gezira project has revealed that the volume of water currently flowing into both the Gezira and Managil canals has exceeded 36 million cubic meters, an amount enough to cultivate roughly one million acres.
Khartoum: AlTaghyeer
The management has revealed also that many farmers have been complaining of crops not being adequately irrigated, most notably cotton, beans and corn crops, and voice concerns regarding the many incidents trespassing.
The director of irrigation operations, Qismallah Khalafallah, said on Monday that his administration has confirmed its readiness to provide required irrigation water since the first meeting of the committee for
Khalafallah indicated, according to SUNA, that the agricultural administration was the one who asked to postpone the water pumping until the preparations for this season had met its 50% target goal, indicating that they had not exceeded 5% at the time.
Concerning matters of crops being inadequately watered, the director mentioned that the cultivation of beans, cotton and corn simultaneously would require them to be irrigated at the same time, leading to the imbalance in the irrigation process.
Khalafallah added that there have also been issues concerning the planting schedules, and a lack of commitment to the agricultural cycle, in addition to the lack of coordination between farmers and the agricultural administration.
Trespassing
Qismallah revealed that some farmers are still trespassing on irrigation facilities.
In addition, a large number of “Abu Twenties” have not yet been dug, in addition to the lack of regular water requests for the cultivated areas.
He stressed that his administration cannot currently make use of machinery due to the unavailability of fuel.
The director of the irrigation process also complained about the amount of funding received from the ministry of Finance, claiming it has yet to exceed 24%.
