The study is concerned with the production and marketing of
dura (sorghum) and sesame in the eastern central rainlands of the Sudan. The two crops are regarded as major export commodities and considerable emphasis has been given to expanding the areas under cultivation using mechanised farming cultivation. The study examines production aspects and the marketing component of the research concentrates on comparing the performancies of the public and private sectors. Dura marketing is in the hands of the latter and sesame in the former.
The thesis consists of eleven chapters and begins with an
introduction to the economy of the Sudan. Four chapters then
follow on dura production and marketing. The first deals with both the economic and agronomic aspects of mechanised dura production with special reference to the two main surplus areas, Gedaref and Damazine. The second chapter deals with the production of dura in the Sudan. The third chapter discusses the internal trade in dura - together with the spatial and temporal analysis . The marketing situation is also dealt with in detail. The final chapter
on dura examines the world market situation. In the years with good crops the Sudan is a major exporter but when the annual crop is low, the Government bans exports.
The next four chapters deal with sesame. The first concentrates on production, the second on the internal trade, the third is concerned with the internal supply, demand and price situation and the fourth with the world trade in oilseeds in which Sudanese sesame is an important commodity. Chapter ten summarises common features of both dura and sesame production and marketing in the Sudan and makes various recommendations to alleviate major problems.
In the final chapter, the thesis is summarised and the conclusion presented.
The private sector is characterised by oligopoly in the marketing structure, but the level of efficiency attained in the performance of marketing functions is relatively high, given the lack of infrastructure in the Sudan. The public sector is characterised by both exploitive
prices and higher costs because of inefficiency. Both sections lead to the depression of producers' prices at a time when production costs are rising steeply. All this has a marked disincentive effect on the producers