WESTERN SAVANNAH

closed

The proposed Project would be a smaller, pilot version of an existing project--Savannah Development Project (Credit 718-SU), which could not be implemented as originally planned because of Sudan's economic crisis. The proposed pilot operation would retain the long term objective of the earlier project, however, by helping lay the foundation for long term development of Western Sudan. It would: (a) test strategies for improving livestock and range production; (b) identify and test agronomic packages and extension methods for crop production, both for area extension and yield increase; and (c) test approaches to settlement and soil conservation. The major risks now foreseen include establishment of a relatively stable system of animal husbandry and crop production in an area where transhuman populations have traditionally predominated. The pilot project is intended to provide the incentives and support facilities to help carry out this transformation.