Blue Nile Integrated Agriculture Development Project


The Blue Nile Integrated Agriculture Development Project located
south of Damazin is a new agricultural development scheme. Since
quelea depredation is one of two major deterrents to sorghum produc-
tion, the project director requested input from this project relative
to actual or potential quelea problems in the area. Accordingly, a
survey was made of the project area. Data on quelea control and past
nesting in this area were collected from the Sennar Plant Protection
Department.

Damage estimates obtained from local farmers in the immediate project
area were approximately 5 percent. On this basis, the design team
decided not to include funding for quelea control research, at least
for the present time. It was pointed out that past history has shown
that agricultural schemes, both large and small, located in prime
quelea habitat, have suffered heavy depredation of agricultural
crops, especially sorghum, wheat, and millet. The Blue Nile project
is in prime quelea habitat, and little or no indirect control has
been available for this area in the past. The potential for severe
quelea problems is present and may materialize as development of the
scheme progresses.

Rodent problems in Sudan

The agricultural rodent situation in Sudan was the subject of a dis-
cussion in early 1978 with Dr. Salah Omer, Agricultural Zoology
Department, University of Khartoum at Shambat; Dr. Michael Fall,
Biologist, DWRC; and Mr. Hassan Farog, Vertebrate Pest Specialist,
Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC). It was concluded that two
rodent species, Arvicanthis niloticus and Mastomys natalensis, cause
significant damage to a variety of agricultural crops, including
cotton, sorghum, wheat, groundnuts, and vegetables.

Dr. Omer cited data on damage losses in Sudan as follows:

 total loss of sorghum in some parts of Central Sudan during a
 heavy rat outbreak in 1961/62;

 sixty to eighty percent damage to wheat in 1961/62;

 up to 70 percent loss of wheat crop (approximately 500,000
 feddans) during a rat outbreak in 1975/76;

 thirty percent loss of groundnuts during this same outbreak in
 1975/76;