In happier times, Mohamed Ahmed grows sorghum, lentils and beans on three feddans of land in Gezira state. But for more than a year, no irrigation water has reached the 1.2 hectares (3 acres) he cultivates in the Managil section of Sudan’s vast Gezira irrigation scheme. He spends his time clearing weeds, repairing field boundaries and preparing the soil in case water returns.
The canals have been dry since May 2024. “I waited for the water as I always did,” the 38-year-old tells Mongabay by phone, “but nothing came. Two full seasons were lost. I even considered leaving farming and searching for work abroad.”
Ahmed is one of as many as 4,000 farmers in the Managil section who face ruin. The Gezira Scheme spans nearly 890,000 hectares (2.2 million acres), pumping water from the Nile to farmers through a network of canals fed by the century-old Sennar Dam. According to irrigation engineer Abdullah Al-Haj, until 2005, the project’s administrators regulated water levels and flow and coordinated maintenance of the of the main pumps and canals.
However, in 2005, operation of the irrigation scheme was partially privatised. New legislation — and a 2014 amendment — emphasised administrative and financial independence, granting farmers freedom to choose which crops to grow and requiring them to establish water user associations.
Legally, the associations have the authority to manage and maintain sections of the Gezira Scheme, but in practice, they oversee water distribution but rely heavily on state support for technical, financial and operational needs.
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We have been left to manage on our own. The government makes promises, but nothing happens.
Mohamed Ahmed, farmer, Gezira
Direct support from the state was withdrawn, and many of the scheme’s experienced administrative staff and workers were dismissed, creating a vacuum in maintenance and oversight that has persisted, contributing to the steady breakdown of the centralised irrigation system.
In addition to these difficulties, water levels at Sennar Dam have declined in recent years as a result of drought.
“The problem today is not only water scarcity, but the absence of a disciplined executive authority to manage distribution as before,” Al-Haj says.
Thousands of feddans of agricultural land across the Gezira scheme’s many sections, including Managil, have lost irrigation coverage over the past 20 years.
Ahmed and his neighbours ceaselessly discuss possible solutions but have come up with nothing. “We tried to think of solutions, but there are no resources. There is simply no water to pump,” Ahmed says. “The government keeps making promises without action. If the canals are not prepared, we will not be able to cultivate next season.”
He worries constantly about how he will feed his children and hopes regular irrigation will eventually return.
In another part of the Gezira Scheme, Tayeb Gad Al-Mawla resorted to using a small gasoline pump after regular canal maintenance stopped. In the Manasi section, where he grows tomatoes and wheat, water is still available in the canal system, but running his own pump to irrigate his fields puts him under significant strain. Running a pump for a day costs the equivalent of US$60-70, he says, and he needs to repeat this every 25 days.
“I sit all night beside the pump, listening to the engine and making sure the water keeps flowing. Any interruption could cost me the entire season.”
Three hundred kilometers (185 miles) downstream along the Nile from where Ahmed despairs, Abdelhafiz Mohamed farms 25 hectares (60 acres) close to the river’s bank. Irrigation systems here in South Shendi have also failed. After a year without irrigation, he decided to install a solar-powered irrigation system to serve part of his land.
“We hesitated at first because of the high cost and the novelty of the experience,” he tells Mongabay.
He previously relied entirely on petrol pumps to draw water directly from the river, but the price of fuel has risen sharply. Sometimes there is no fuel to be purchased at any price — but thirsty fields require water.
“There was no other choice. We even took on responsibilities that used to belong to the state, such as securing fuel and spare parts ourselves,” he says.
Abdelhafiz Mohammed spent the equivalent of US$17,900 on solar pumps that can irrigate about 6.3 hectares (15 acres). He says the new system has saved him the unpredictable cost of fuel, but he’s learning to manage new challenges.
“Every morning I check the solar panels to make sure the system is running properly. Sometimes panels malfunction or are stolen, forcing me to repair them myself or wait for spare parts. That makes every day a new challenge. Still, having control over the water gives me a sense of stability and reduces our reliance on fuel.”
Rising demand for solar pumps
With the breakdown of irrigation across the Gezira scheme and in River Nile state, growing numbers of farmers like Mohammed have turned to solar power.
Mohamed Al-Haj manages supply of solar-powered systems to Sudan for UAE-based GSB Solar. He tells Mongabay that demand for his company’s products began rising noticeably in late 2021, coinciding with the onset of more frequent electricity outages. Demand doubled after 2023, he says, as maintenance of irrigation networks by the government deteriorated due to lack of heavy machinery for maintenance and fresh problems with the power supply caused by the outbreak of civil war.
The shift to solar energy, GSB’s Mohamed Al-Haj explains, has been an emergency response to the breakdown of existing alternatives. “Most buyers do not ask about long-term returns. They repeat one phrase: ‘We just want water so we don’t lose another season.’”
But the cost of a solar system capable of irrigating three feddans is approximately 10 million Sudanese pounds — US$3,500, at official exchange rates — an enormous sum for a small-scale farmer.
The shift toward private irrigation systems has exposed a widening economic and social gap. The people who have bought and installed solar systems have mainly been large landholders with sufficient liquidity or mid-level farmers who sold off livestock or other assets to pay for installation.
Smaller-scale farmers with limited resources often remain excluded from this transition. This group makes up roughly three-quarters of the farmers in the Gezira Scheme. Most of them cultivate staple crops such as sorghum, wheat and pulses. But few can afford the high upfront cost of solar irrigation systems, meaning they — and the country’s food supply — remain dependent on the failing canal irrigation network.
Mongabay contacted the official responsible for the Gezira Scheme, Ibrahim Mustafa, but no response was received at the time of publication.
The official silence mirrors an absence of official engagement with many of the farmers in this story. “We have been left to manage on our own,” Ahmed tells Mongabay from Managil. “The government makes promises, but nothing happens.”
While wealthier farmers along the Nile have increasingly turned to solar-powered pumps to secure water for their crops, smallholders like Ahmed face a stark choice: Watch their fields go dry, or find limited, costly alternatives to save their harvests. For them, the irrigation struggle is not just about water; it is a question of survival, fairness and the ability to sustain their families in the midst of a protracted crisis.
This story was published with permission from Mongabay.com.
