My aim is not merely to farm, it is to make the Blue Nile self-sufficient
Ihab Babiker
“The land only yields its secrets to those who knock on its door with knowledge and resolve. My aim is not merely to farm, it is to make the Blue Nile self-sufficient so the region no longer needs to import vegetables,” Ihab Babiker, an agronomist, told Atar from his farm on the outskirts of Ar-Roseires in Blue Nile.
Ihab speaks proudly of himself first as a “farmer,” a title he prefers despite his formal training, and then the son of an agricultural engineer who insists he be called one.
He described an experimental project he runs alongside other initiatives in the area as trialing crops and vegetables that local growers have rarely planted before.
He is using a marginal rain-fed fields at the edge of town, notable for its heavy, cracked clay and its tendency to become waterlogged in the autumn rains.
He cultivates marginal rain-fed fields on the edge of town, land characterized by heavy, cracked clay that becomes waterlogged during the autumn rains.
Until recently, Babiker planted maize and traditional small-grain watermelon seeds there. Cultivating these two crops has, however, become exhausting and financially costly in recent years. He, therefore, decided to plant ‘Ajur’ (Sudanese cucumber) instead, hoping to compensate for the losses incurred from sorghum and watermelon seeds.
Taha Ahmed Taha, an agricultural specialist in Blue Nile, told Atar that he estimates the floodplains cover about 500,000 feddans, land well suitedfor growing leafy and other vegetable crops. because it holds rainwater that collects in the autumn and can persist through several months of drought.
Taha Ahmed Taha, an agricultural specialist in Blue Nile, told Atar that he estimates the floodplains cover about 500,000 feddans, land well suited for growing leafy and other vegetable crops and can sustain cultivation through several months of drought.
Courgette in the Blue Sultanate
Yes, courgette has thrived in the land of the Blue Sultanate, the fields are brimming with produce.
Hammad Yaqoub Suleiman
Babiker says he planted a plot with Ajur and ran several small trials, including sweet potatoes, okra, cowpeas, watermelon and cantaloupe, but the most dramatic shift came when a friend urged him to try courgette seeds he had brought from outside Sudan.
The experiment, he said, began on a marginal rainfed parcel at the edge of Ar-Roseires in the Blue Nile region.
Babiker says he first planted the courgette the same way he had planted ajur after the floodwaters receded, then treated the seedlings once with a mix of insecticide and fungicide.
Despite receiving only a single light irrigation, the courgette matured faster and outperformed the ajur, he says, producing an excellent yield.
The trial began modestly, three rows totaling about 30 seeds in his eastern Ar-Roseires plot, but expanded over time to about one and a half feddans. He now hopes to increase that to five to 10 feddans next year as he scales the experiment for wider cultivation.
Babiker spoke with visible pride and joy about the results of the experiment.
“Yes, courgette has thrived in the land of the Blue Sultanate, the fields are brimming with produce,” he told Atar.
“It is as though the land itself is telling us: I am blessed and generous. I can offer abundant harvests, I only need those willing to work, invest the effort and evaluate the soil according to the principles of science,” he added.
Babiker says the success of the courgette trial is part of a broader effort to challenge entrenched farming habits that limit growers to a narrow range of crops.
In a region historically dominated by field crops such as sorghum and sesame, alongside vegetables like okra and mulukhiyah, Babiker and several fellow farmers have decided to break with convention. Their new trials include courgette as well as commercially viable varieties of potatoes and onions, with the aim of diversifying local diets and enabling the region to meet its own demand for these crops.
Babiker says his initiative is being carried out in collaboration with fellow farmers and agricultural engineers and centres on what he calls “a shift in entrenched patterns.”
The effort relies on incentive-based policies designed to expand agricultural production, generate employment opportunities and raise household incomes, beginning with local self-sufficiency and eventually supplying markets beyond the region.
Speaking to Atar, Babiker said the project seeks to foster development and strengthen the will to break from the region’s long-standing patterns of production and consumption.
Courgette, for example, is typically transported into the Blue Nile from outside the region, most often from Khartoum, particularly the area of Al-Jaili, even though it remains a relatively uncommon staple in local diets.
Still, it regularly appears in the markets of Ad-Damazin and Ar-Roseires.
Babiker says vegetable growers in the region tend to focus on a narrow group of widely consumed crops such as okra, leafy greens, eggplant, purslane, arugula and radishes. These varieties are favoured because they have short growing cycles and deliver quick returns, in addition to being firmly embedded in local food culture.
Yet farmers rarely cultivate other profitable crops, including bell peppers, courgette, cucumbers, carrots, beets and onions despite their strong market potential.
Babiker criticized what he described as neglect by both the federal and regional agriculture ministries. He says farmers receive little to no institutional support.
“They don’t even provide us with agricultural guidance, let alone financial or moral support of any kind,” he said.
He cited the example of a melon variety that once thrived in Blue Nile and produced abundant harvests. Farmers have since lost access to its seeds and are now searching for them. The variety originates from a neighbouring country, making it difficult for local farmers to obtain it directly.
“We raised the issue with the ministry, but nothing has been done,” he added.
Babiker says the initiative he and his colleagues launched is meant to go beyond reliance on government institutions, placing the farmer at the centre of innovation, investment and production.
He noted that international organizations such as ADRA and World Vision have distributed seeds to small farmers affected by the war in some areas through local partners.
Babiker says his group hopes to collaborate with such organizations to expand the initiative and chart a new path for agricultural development in the region.
He has set aside an area solely for seed production, only so he can distribute them to local families to encourage home gardening, as well as to some farmers. His goal is to spread the benefits of growing these new vegetable varieties across the Ar-Roseires region.
A Battle of Science Against the Odds
A short distance from Babiker, another agricultural experiment is unfolding. Hammad Yaqoub Suleiman, an agricultural engineer, describes his work as “a battle of science against circumstance.”
Facing volatile weather and persistent humidity in Blue Nile, Suleiman has rejected traditional farming methods and instead introduced modern soil fertility techniques and drip-irrigation systems designed to conserve water. The approach has enabled him to cultivate potatoes and onions that meet commercial market standards.
“We began with a small experimental plot, but the vision was always larger than a farm for subsistence,” Suleiman told Atar.
Today, traders come directly to his fields to purchase the locally grown harvest, which now competes with produce shipped in from outside the region thanks to its quality and lower cost, a development he says fills him with pride.
By relying on drip irrigation to manage periodic water shortages, Suleiman has reduced labour and water consumption while ensuring the growth of more sensitive crops. He also says he has developed natural, science-based methods to protect onion crops from pests common to the Blue Nile climate. His hope, he adds, is that the modest initiative will one day evolve into a breadbasket for the region.
Local vegetables can be fresher and cheaper than produce trucked from afar.
Hammad Yaqoub Suleiman
Suleiman and other members of the initiative currently cultivate about 20 feddans of vegetables and plan to expand the area to between 80 and 100 feddans in the coming period after receiving seeds from an international organization supporting smallholder farmers in Blue Nile.
Suleiman says the group is working to transform the project from a small personal initiative into an attractive investment model. He spoke with satisfaction about traders who now come directly to his farm to purchase produce, generating strong profits. Yet, he said, his greatest pride lies in seeing young farmers in the region draw inspiration from the experiment.
“We are not only planting the land, we are planting hope,” he told Atar, adding that such initiatives demonstrate the region’s capacity to revive its economy through the efforts of its own farmers.
Through the project, Suleiman hopes to convert these fields into model farms powered by solar energy, creating the momentum needed to supply markets across the Blue Nile region and make locally produced food the first choice for households in Ad-Damazin.
He adds that the experience has revealed that much of the struggle extends beyond the fields and into the Sudanese kitchen itself.
Limiting meals to a narrow range of ingredients is not inevitable, he said, but rather the result of the absence of fresh and sustainable alternatives. For years, households in Ar-Roseires and Ad-Damazin relied largely on what the land produced naturally with minimal intervention.
“We have shown people that vegetables grown locally can be fresher and cheaper than produce hauled by trucks from distant regions,” he said.
Suleiman acknowledges that residents of his region have a deep culinary attachment to dried okra and to mulukhiyah, staples of the local table. Even so, he hopes the initiative will serve as a messenger of change, encouraging the wider adoption of crops such as potatoes and courgette and gradually integrating them into everyday dishes.
Suleiman says the initiative’s strongest tool is consistency. “When consumers find courgette and potatoes available in the market year-round at competitive prices, they will gradually begin to incorporate them into their regular meals,” he said.
The group’s broader vision, he explained, is for vegetable markets in Ad-Damazin and Ar-Roseires to offer a more diverse and modern basket of produce. Their ambition extends beyond financial gain: they hope one day to see Ad-Damazin’s markets vibrant with the green of zucchini and the earthy tones of freshly harvested potatoes, displayed alongside locally grown onions, together forming what Suleiman describes as a new balance in the region’s diet.
From Field to Kitchen
Sida Muawiya Al-Shafie, a resident of the eastern neighbourhood in Ar-Roseires, says she struggled in past years with frequent shortages of onions, a staple that directly affects daily cooking.
Al-Shafie told Atar that, during those periods, she often resorted to using sweet potatoes, locally known as bambay, as a substitute because they were more readily available while onion prices had soared.
Al-Shafie says she has felt a sense of relief this year as locally grown onions began appearing in the markets, easing the shortages that had plagued previous seasons.
Just days ago, she said, the initiative distributed onion and pepper seeds to her household. She plans to plant them at home in the coming days, hoping to achieve a measure of self-sufficiency in two ingredients that are central to her family’s kitchen.
Because irrigation in the area depends largely on water from the Ar-Roseires Dam, the country’s third-largest hydroelectric facility in terms of power generation and an important source of irrigation, vegetable cultivation is concentrated in areas close to the reservoir, where soil and climate conditions are suitable for traditional seasonal crops, including onions and various spices.
Even so, farmers continue to struggle with limited access to seeds, fertilizers and other essential inputs, challenges that compound broader food-security concerns.
Both traditional small-scale farming and mechanized agriculture are practiced along the riverbanks. But cultivating vegetables in rain-fed agricultural zones remains a relatively new approach. Initiatives led by farmers such as Ihab Babiker and Hammad Yaqoub Suleiman seek to expand and adapt vegetable production to these rain-dependent lands, transferring the activity beyond irrigated riverbanks and developing it within Sudan’s broader rain-fed farming landscape.
Despite the vast agricultural expanse of Blue Nile, a striking statistical paradox persists: while millions of feddans in the region are devoted to field crops, the area allocated to vegetable cultivation remains relatively limited and concentrated in narrow zones. Yet those areas are now expanding rapidly, driven largely by emerging grassroots initiatives.
Mohamed Mohamado Taher, an agricultural specialist, says farmers in the Blue Nile have historically focused on grain crops for practical reasons. Grains can be stored for months, even years, whereas vegetables spoil quickly and require immediate access to markets.
Moreover, most farmers in the region rely primarily on rain-fed agriculture and are accustomed to large-scale mechanized production of cash crops, while vegetables demand intensive manual care and technical management.
Taher says the region’s long-standing dependence on importing more delicate vegetables from Khartoum, Al-Jazirah and Sennar has historically reduced incentives for local expansion.
Still, he says the relatively small vegetable plots now under cultivation, modest compared with major field crops, have demonstrated remarkably high productivity. If recent experiments continue to succeed, Taher expects the acreage devoted to nontraditional vegetables in the region to double within the next two years.
These initiatives have taught us that science does not replace experience. It refines it.
Haj Osman Koko
Adam Idris, a young farmer who owns agricultural land on one of the river islands near Ar-Roseires, told Atar that vegetables such as courgette and potatoes were once viewed locally as “elite produce,” arriving from northern and central Sudan in worn wooden crates and sold at exorbitant prices.
That perception changed after he joined the initiative.
“When I became part of the project and began growing onions on the Nile islands, I realized our land here is actually more fertile,” he said.
Idris says their greatest concern at the outset was the risk of marketing failure as local consumers were accustomed to traditional greens and eggplants.
“Today, traders come to the island even before the crop has matured,” he said. “We are literally thinking outside the box, cultivating areas that were once seen only as tourist retreats or fishing grounds.”
Meanwhile, Haj Osman Koko, a veteran rain-fed farmer, says he spent 40 years growing little beyond sorghum and sesame. Koko recalled the familiar rhythm of the trade: waiting for the rains to plant, then waiting again for traders to dictate the price.
“When we first heard talk of growing vegetables in floodplains, we laughed,” he said. “But after seeing the remarkable benefits, we realized we had been sleeping on treasures.”
Next year, Koko plans to dedicate five feddans of his rain-fed land to testing modern agricultural techniques.
“These initiatives have taught us that science does not replace experience,” he said. “It refines it.”
The testimonies of Idris and Adam echo the analysis of Mohamed Mohamado Taher: the incentive for farmers is shifting from merely “securing a livelihood” through grains to pursuing “smart investment” in vegetables.
Although the plots dedicated to these new crops remain isolated pockets amid millions of feddans of sorghum and sesame, their remarkable success has turned them into model farms that draw attention and signal the potential for a broader economic transformation across the region, Taher says.
