FAO experts, Sudanese date palm farmers' associations join hands to develop date palm products and by-product value chains

Khartoum, 8 August 2021 - An advanced training course was opened on Sunday, today, targeting date palm producers in the Northern state. The course is part of the “Development of Date Palm Products and By-products Value Chains in Sudan” project sponsored by the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Sudanese Date Palm Farmers Association.

The opening ceremony of the course, held in the Research Hall in Dongola, the capital of the Northern State, was attended by Dr. Muhammad Daldoom, representative of FAO, and Mr. Muhammad El-Hassan Abdeen, representing the Northern State government, as well as a wide range of farmers from the four localities of the state.

At the beginning of the opening session, Dr. Badr El-Din El-Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Sudanese Palm Farmers Association, thanked FAO for its interest and support for the "Development of Date Palm Products and By-products Value Chains in Sudan" project, pointing to the great efforts made by the association to develop palm cultivation and train producers.

He also stressed the need to expedite the formation of associations of date producers in order to facilitate the provision of production and cultivation machinery.

For his part, Dr. Mahdi Abdel Rahman, Agricultural Research Authority and representative of FAO experts, emphasized the importance of training to help improve production, stressing that FAO is committed to providing all production equipment to date producer associations.

Dr. Muhammad Daldoom, FAO country representative, indicated that the UN organization's focus on the date palm sector came late, thanking the Sudanese Palm Farmers Association for cooperating with the organization to hold these courses.  

He called for an increased focus on date palm and its production, noting that the FAO project to develop the dates sector takes care of all stages of the value chain, including cultivation through post-harvest operations, marketing and agricultural operations.

Daldom explained that the cooperation between FAO and the associations of date producers aims to meet the demands of the local market in the first place.

At the end of the opening session, Mr. Muhammad El-Hassan Abdeen, representative of the Northern State government, welcomed the FAO, the Sudanese Palm Farmers Association, and the participants in the course, stressing the state's readiness to support the project and stand by it until it achieves the desired goal.

After that, the session started with a lecture on the current situation of date palms in Sudan, presented by Dr. Mahdi Abdel Rahman. Dr. Mariam Ibn Auf also gave a lecture on the varieties of dates and agricultural processes related to palm cultivation.

Dr. Badr El-Din El-Sheikh also gave a lecture on the FAO project and its role in the development of date palms in Sudan.

This course will continue through next Tuesday.