Abstract

The northern states of Sudan, as one of the most important agricultural region, is characterized by low and erratic rainfall and limited arable land. Agriculture in north of the country provides employment for about 2/3 of the population. The last decades witnessed a dramatic deterioration in the contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP; the agricultural export declined to about 3% in 2007 down from an average of 74% in the period 1996 to 1998. Further, a large portion (83%) of Sudan’s rural community today depends on highly vulnerable livelihood and degraded environment. This situation has affected agricultural productivity severely through greater frequency of diminishing yield. This study aims to assess the interrelation of crop productivity change and poverty incident in agricultural societies. In tracing differences in agricultural yield and returns, detailed calculations from the collected data were made to estimate the per capita rural income from agricultural activities in northern Sudan. The results suggest that the potential impacts of low yield and yield volatility, particularly in the conventional farming system, causes poverty incident in this region.

Key words: Agriculture sector, poverty incident, yields.