North Kordofan Rural Development Project

North Kordofan Rural Development Project

Irrigated farming is limited in the provinces of Um Ruwaba and Bara in western Sudan, which were hit by a series of droughts in the 1980s and early 1990s. The massive influx of displaced persons from the south has placed further pressure on already fragile resources, and livelihoods have suffered considerably.

The overall goal of the project is to improve the standard of living of target communities in the area, and in particular to assure their food security and make them more resilient in the face of drought.

Specific objectives include:

• increasing the capacity of village communities to plan, execute and manage development schemes
• establishing support systems to assist communities in development
• promoting communal natural resource management
• creating sustainable participatory financial institutions

Although the project has faced difficulties caused by inconsistencies in the decentralization process, it has helped form village development committees in the project area, which have been successful in mobilizing the local community and resources for development activities. It is working to improve its targeting of the poorest in communities. Farmers have already registered benefits in productivity.

Source: IFAD