farmer picks sorghum - cuts seeds etc; more same; young boy picks sorghum; shots of another farmer cuts sorghum plants after harvest; more same; villagers working in cotton plantations -- picking up grass etc from among the plants; more same; many shots of villagers working - men, women and children; more same; cutaway shots; CU cotton which was planted a few weeks ago; water canal; sign Sudan Gezira Board.




Initials


for story details see enclosed.
THIS IS PRETTY THINK CONTENT AS THIS WAS A WRONG SEASON! THERE WAS NO PICKING OR HARVEST OF OTHER CROPS. IN FACT AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS WORTHWHILE FILMING. BUT YOU MAY BE ABLE CUT 50 TO 60 sec story.

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Managing Director - Hassan Abdulla Hashim
Started 1911 by British. The British company's concession handed over to the Sudanese in 1950 and the administration handed over in 1956.

Until 1960 the crops were cotton and sorghum.

In 1959 the water agreement with Egypt was renewed increasing the milliards of water allowed to the Sudan. This allowed them to grow wheat and groundnuts from '60 - '70/71.

The government policy is self-sufficiency in food. They have therefore increased wheat until now 60,000 acres are planted. Acre yield is 3/4 ton.

This should be feed all of the Sudan (excluding the South).

'70/71 117,000 acres under groundnuts.

'75-76 425,000 acres under groundnuts.

Previously 600,000 acres of cotton were planted every year.

'75/76 for the first time cotton has been reduced to 400,000 acres.

There is now a higher yield per acre through fertiliser and pest control (cropspraying) so the cotton crop yield has in actual fact only been reduced by 5-10%.

The Gezira is the world's largest single farm 2.1 million acres.

'75/76 medium staple cotton - ACALA - has been planted.

There is a good market for this type of cotton but the Gezira have as yet to formulate a definite policy towards shifting from long staple to short and medium staple cotton.

The aim of the Gezira is to increase the yield per acre and to give added value to crops harvested by setting up peripheral industries involved in primary processing.

Long-staple is difficult to pick with machines. An experimental round gave 90% losses.

Picking requires one man per acre thus the traditional labour force during the picking season has been 600,000 men.

The picking season is from Jan-April.

???? the labour force is imported from Western Sudan.

The tenant farmer not only pays wages but feeds his labour and give him stubble from the fields so that he can build a house. Some labour stay on through May to pull the cotton stalks out of the ground.

900,000 acres are under 3-years crop rotation - cotton/wheat/groundnuts
1.2 million acres are under 4-years crop rotation - cotton/wheat/groundnuts/fallow.

Wheat is planted in October and groundnuts are planted in June.

Wheat is harvested mechanically.

Other minerals are existing in the rich soil but 80 kilos of nitrogen per fedan are used annually.

'75/76 350,000 acres have been put under sorghum; 12,000 acres under rice.

This is the second season they have been self-sufficient in sorghum.

There are 95.000 tenant farmers.

The land belongs to the government and must be cultivated according to a certain standard or they lose the use of the land. Otherwise the land is theirs in perpetuity.

Each farmer has at least 15 acres and at most 40 acres. Crops are never sown in plots less than 5 acres.

There are 2 training schools for tenants sons.

Tenants are disciplined through the village council, called production council.

Gezira is Arabic for "island" as it is in the triangle formed by the Blue and White Niles.

The area is fully extended as far as use of water and suitable land is concerned. 7 milliards of water are used annually.