The impact of incorporation in the world market and consequent effects of change in the Gezira region traditional society in the Sudan

/ ^■S

UNITED NATIONS

"AFRICAN INSTITUTE R)R ECONOMIC DEVEIAPMENT AND PLANNING

CS/2544-16 4Z-

DAKAR

SEMINAR

ON _v

THE EMERGENCE OF AGRARIAN CAPITALISM IN AFRICA SOUTH OF THF, SARARA

(Dakar 3 December to 12 December

1973).

THE IMPACT OF INCORPORATION IN THE WORLD MARKET AND CONSEQUENT EFFECTS OF CHANGE IN THE GEZIRA REGION TRADITIONAL SOCIETY IN THE SUDAN

By

Mamoun M. Yassin s

Director, Council for Economic

^nd Social Research

National Council for Research. Khartcjum.

&

Ibrahim H. Abdel Galil ^s v

Dean Faculty of Economics and Social Studies University of Khartoum.

NOVEMBER 1973.

*

The Impact of

Incorporation in the World-

Market and Consequent Effects of Change

■ in the, Gezira-.Region Traditional Society in the Sudan

I': .! ' —————— .!. '.y.

1- The Problem, Objective.and Methodology:

•• . • ; -i ; ■•■...• •■; ' '• i

Traditional societies when transformed and oriented towards commercial production undergo many socio-economic changes in the course of development. The economic system in such traditional societies ^re¬

flects adaptations to natural requirements and

limitations.

"Viewed

1•■ : j

from the perspective of a modern system of state economy, these subsis¬

tence economies were pre-market, pre-scientific, pre-capitalistic

(i.e.

pre-investment with capital viewed in physical

terms),

and pre-state sys¬

tems of economy, in which the participants have the abilities appropriate

to the functioning of the system".—'1/

These socio-economic changes have a direct bearing on the rural

institutions existing in such traditional -so-cieti-es.— Needless-to -say

that, bearing is function of impact which in our case depends, to a large extent, on the magnitude of incorporation in the world market economy.

But it is to be recognised as well, that the concept pertaining to incor¬

poration in the market economy is broad, vis-à-vis, ^a market economy from

the regional, national and international points of view.

However, it is expected that the effects of change in

traditional

societies will be more intense by the incorporation in world markets.

This may be correct due to the prevailing high level of competition in export markets that call for progressive and relatively intensive use

of

technology in the production as well as the marketing processes !so as

to

be at an advantage, or in a position, for the disposal of

products in

such markets.

_1J Kenneth H. Parsons, PAO Research in Contemporary change in

Agrarian structure,

land reform PAO Ho.1, 1972, P.6

CS/2544-16

Page 2.

The first objective of this paper is to study the nature, weight and spill-over effects of agrarian capitalism in the Gezira region. The second objective is to show the form.of agrarian capitalism manifested by the development of the "Gezira Schéme" as a unique socio-economic experiment in Africa. It is unique in the sense that it is-more or less an expression of agrarian capitalism emerging in an intrinsically and categorically

traditional society developed by a socialist pattern of development spec¬

ially after the nationalisation of the scheme in 1950.

As far as methods followed in preparing this paper are concerned,

some primary information pertaining to the subject is available through

the writers' long experience and personal observations on the existing farming society of the Gezira region. Secondary information from previous surveys and studies ^are also available for analysis and proper interpreta¬

tion.

2- Development of the Gezira Scheme

(a)

Socio-economic situation before the establishment of the Scheme

As described by Arthur

Gaitskell,-^

^the Gezira inhabitants before the establishment of the scheme were semi-nomadic tribes scattered all over the Gezira plain, where their level of concentration depended more or less on the climatic _conditions in different parts of the region. In

the northern part where rainfall is relatively precarious, villages ^are

situated near the Blue Nile where all agricultural activities are performed

in small str'ips of land irrigated from the river by lifting water by means of old traditional devices using power, locally known ^as "Sagais". In the

_1/

Ex director General of the Gezira Scheme until

Í950,

in his book

'The Gezira', a story of development in the Sudan.

central and Southern parts where the precipitation is suitable for dry farming and animal grazing, more people were engaged in

agriculture

as a way of living using traditional tools and impliments for

subsistence

production of cereal crops.

Conversely, Saad El Din

Fawzi-^

^{drew the} attention of those who

speak

about the Gezira to its ancient contribution in the production of cotton

and cereals. He cited the case of Sennar, the Capital of the

old Funj

Kingdom from where Cotton was exported to Ethiopia and

textiles and cereals

to other parts of the country in the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries.

He thus claimed that the Gezira ^was not born in the twentieth century as some thought.

Indeed, more recent research on the region,

reveal'that the Gezira

was the grenary of the country producing a surplus

of cereals which

was transacted in distant places. There is evidence, also, that commerce thrived in the region to the extent that throe Gezira

towns (Wad Medani,

Sennar and

Messalamiya)

^were centres of wholesale trade

of great prominence

in terms of volume, variety and origin of commodities traded.

Furthermore,

few families and individuals became fairly famous as traders, farmers

and

land owners. Thus, by 1927 about

60%

of the land

that

was

later incorpo-

rated in the scheme was owned by one hundred and fifty families

most of

whom were already well established as traders.

This should not be

sur¬

prising since the area was one of the

earliest to be settled, had

a com¬

paratively well organised and centralised

system of Government in the Funj

Kingdom at Sennar and endowed with a

fertile soil and climate conducive

for growing of cereals.

yj Late Professor of Economics, University of Khartoum in his book,

'The Economy of the Sudan'.

CS/2544-16

^*

Page 4.

(b )

Notions leading to the Establishment of the Scheme;

After the British colonisation to the Sudan in

1898,

which was followed by the creation of a civil administration, attention was directed to exploring possibilities pertaining to agricultural exploitation ^{so as}

to meet the financial commitments of the newly born colony. In effect,

the Gezira plain was chosen as a suitable sito for an irrigation scheme.

The bias for cotton production, which proved succesful in the Northern province of the Sudan, ^was intensified by the need at that time to gua¬

rantee a regular supply of cotton to the British Empire especially after

the .failure of the crop in U.S.A. and Egypt. Equally _important was the need to insure against possible shortages or curtailment of Egyptian varieties of cotton that could be brought about by the rising tide of Egyptian nationalism.

However, in our opinion, the main reasons that helped in the estab¬

lishment of the Gezira Scheme which represents a sort of organised and

relatively modern agriculture implanted in a typically traditional agri¬

cultural commercial milieu are summarised as follows s-

The Government at that time had to choose between a policy of persua¬

sion as against a policy of imposition. Based on her experiences of rural attitudes, she prefered the former and consequently put the idea of the project to the inhabitants of the region showing the merits that could _accrue for the welfare of their community so as to guarantee their prospective effective participation. Land owners whose lands fall in the scheme were given priority in tenancy distribution as a sign of recog¬

nition. Consequently a high degree of cooperation was catered for before the execution of the scheme. Such a policy resulted in the disintegra¬

tion of the land owner class by reducing it to tenants operating in comparatively small scale holdings under conditions of complete and total control by an alien administration.

The project which was executed in

1925/26

was preceded "by the

"Tayba" and "Barakat" pilot trials in the Gezira plain so as to test the technical as well as economic feasibility of such an enormous

investment. Hand in hand, a research station, mainly for conducting

cotton research, was established.

Although the main objective of the project was the production of cotton as indicated earlier, the inclusion of the staple crop "sorghum

for the total benefit of tenants gave them satisfaction and symbol of security.

However, the impact of such a policy on the then existing merchant class can not be exaggarated. Tenants were made self-sufficient and hence such a potentially important customer group was no longer dependent for the supply of its staple food on market forces and ' '■

market conditions. Tenants became dependent for their livelihood on

thé scheme; a situation that practically made it very difficult for them to desert it even in times of low yields and low prices. By so

doing the company was assured of ^a permanent class of tenants.

Some experienced tenants from the established "Zeidab" cotton scheme in the northern province were attracted to work in the newly established Gezira Scheme and were sandwiched between the Gezira tenants with the object of creating a learning process by seeing and doing among neighbours.

,• ; ... r- .... ' '• •* ■ • •' "

Trails of vocational training of young tenants were started in view of attracting tenants' sons of agriculture and improving ^on their technical abilities.

Production and the main marketing activities including the pro¬

cessing

(ginning)

of cotton were very well ine'rgrated under one ad¬

ministration. This situation was dic.tated by the very nature of the enterprise which was basically a sort of a typical plantation esta¬

blished by ^a foreign company having direct connections and interests

CS/2544-16

Page 6.

in the disposal of the main cash

(Cotton)

in its native land, where there

was also a guaranteed market with forward sales. Hence, although the re¬

gion was further commercialised and integrated in the world _economy in the manner described, its indigenous traders ^were permitted very little trading activities since the cash crop

(cotton)

^was destined for the Bri¬

tish Market. Many traders thus opted to leave the Gezira to the Western part of the country or other regions whereas those who preferred to stay became tenants and small whosalers or retail traders.

7)

The infrastructure _necessary for the integration of production and

marketing of the _{crop was} available. The prevailing transport net-work

was designed to connect areas of production to the port. In addition,

other services like ginning, warehousing etc. were catered for satisfac¬

torily.

8)

The Sudan Plantations

Syndicated

brought with it a system of adminis tration _{whose main} objective was to insure maximum production. It intro¬

duced an administration machinery very similar to the factory system pre¬

vailing in Britain at the turn of the century i.e. before fabianism and labour unions became a force of significance in the British economic scene The organisation chart for the scheme was composed of a Board of Directors

(resident

ⁱⁿ

Britain),

^a managing director together with his assistants in the

headquarters,

Block and field inspectors. The latter were synon—

nymous to the shop stewards and foreman _{in British} factories. They were

responsible for ensuring that the schedule of work was strictly adhered

to by tenants and were given powers of punishment ranging from fines to dismisal against those whose performance was not _up to the expected stan¬

dards.

1/

The Sudan plantations syndicate

(s.P.S.)

^{was a} British private _company established by certain merchants of the city of London, who had the experience in trade and banking ⁱⁿ Egypt at that time, for exploita¬

tion of Cotton production in Sudan.

It is thus clear that whether the attitude of persuasion as preferred to that of imposition, of the full appreciation for piloting and research

"before and during the process of development, the choice "of socially accep¬

table land tenure arrangements and investment at least in

the'necessary

infrastructural activities, all of those and others are components of a

plan. In short, proper planning and programming was the secret behind which lies the successful grafting of the "Gezira Scheme" in a subsistence milieu.

This story of success between 1926-1950 may be summarised in the to¬

tal _gross returns to the three partners: Government, S.P.S. and tenants.

According to

Gaitskell-^,

total receipts to the Sudan Government _amounted to

LS38,1595493>

S.P.3. gross receipts were LS20,413*382 whereas tenants' share was

LS39»850,

204 over the period. The _average dividends paid to the nominal

(British)

capital amounted to

15$,

whereas dividends paid to no¬

minal capital plus share premiums amounted to

9$

^{- a very} locrative busi¬

ness

indeed.8'

Most writers on the Gezira have been favourably impressed with the

sucess of this story. However, in our view, this story is incomplete. For the Gezira scheme has succeeded not only in modernising the _economy of Sudan but in

integrating

it fully in the unequal international exchange.

The country used its receipts of foreign currency to purchase consumption goods including textiles, implements, -tools, spare parts, as well ^as for the payment of expatriate salaries and the running' of its civil administra¬

tion. The Gezira scheme did not generate linkages, either forward or

backward, over a period of a quarter of century. Both the country and the _area became dependent upon one cash crop. Also the management of the scheme did not embark on a policy of training local hecruits to assume

managerial responsibility and be ready to take over. The administration

was reserved for expatriate recruited mainly from Britain.

Furthermore,

tenants were not permitted _{any say} in the decision making process, nor

were they allowed to form a machinery ^or organ to represent them. They

_1/

Arther Gaitskell, Gezira story of Development in the Sudan, faber and faber, London, 1959» Tables 2,3» and 5» P«P«

268,269,271.

sc.)

Gaitskell totals for _revenues to the company do not include payments to the British _{middlemen who} specialised in Sudan Cotton, nor does he men¬

tion profits received by textile firms in Britain that used Sudan Cot¬

ton as raw material as well as insurance and freight paid to British

f-iT-mg

es/2544—16

Page 8.

«

l

staged a strike in 1946 complaining "bitterly ^{th .t} they,

,ha4_amongst

other

things, "no knowledge of or say in the administration of the

scheme".-^

Similarly _{the profit} seeking British firm did not pay attention to So¬

cial development and although the Gezira area was the most productive region in the country very little _progress was made in education and health services compared with other areas of less economic status. Lo¬

cal government

authorities,

the government _organ that was entrusted with the task of social development, received their revenue from the nominal rent of the land. The S.'P.S. was exempted from such taxes and hence lo¬

cal councils in the irrigated area were poor and their "budgets were much smaller than "budgets in local councils in other less fortunate regions.

Such was the state of affairs before the scheme was nationalised in

1950*

2/

Pressure was brought to bear on the Government by the rising

wave of Sudanese nationalism spearheaded by the ^educated Sudanese and

by the discontent and unhappiness amongst tenants that culminated in their strike of 1946. The call for nationalization became wide spread.

The British colonial administration became aware of the inherent problem and moved towards change to meet the critism launched against the scheme.

Sir Donglas Newbold, then civil secretary, warned in 1940 that"

UNLESS THE Sudanese can soon have more

intelligent

participation in the scheme than that of labour, we are bound to have trouble." Some of them felt that the attitude of S.P.S could undermine government policy. Ring-

man wrote 'There must also be free recognition of the fact that the Government is not only a principal partner but also a trustee'for _the local population. And that recognition must be translated into practi¬

cal and sympathetic ooperation with Government in the development of its native policy. This sounds rather _{abstract but in concrete terms it im¬}

plies, ^we think, closer liason _..., gradual devolution of agricultural control of the individual _{tenants to native} agencies, the provision of

JJ

Saad El Din Pawzi, the labour Movement in the Sudan, Oxford Univer¬

sity Press 1957» p.10

2/

^{THus the} pattern is similar to plantation and mining economies with which the reader is familiar.

agricultural education facilities, and ^a recognition of the non-cotton activities of the tenants. Those are matters of machinery rather than money hut they are of great importance from the government's point of vie "Sir Donglas Newbold conceeded that these reforms _may lead to"

some loss of efficiency, ^and therefore of revenue.... This loss can be-

wholly or partly made up by the syndicate in dilution of British staff..

Comparative loss of efficiency does not mean bankruptcy or slcveliness,

and is compensated by the gain in contentment, agricultural education and local government."

^

^In 1946, the new Advisory Council for Nor¬

thern Sudan appointed a special committee to negotiate with the tenants to end their strike and recommend to the council guidelines for the fu¬

ture of the scheme. The special committee was very critical of S.P.S,

recommended the termination of the concession, and drew the attention

to the need for improving "Social, educational and health conditions of the people." We must always remember that these things are part of the fundamental ends at which the construction of _11 such schemes should

aim.-^

The scheme was nationalized in 1950• The new management had thus

to face _many problems of management, such as Sudanization, expansion in

Social services, participation by tenants ifa the decision making process, diversification of production, marketing of cotton. The progress, though

uneven and sometimes slow and tardy, is quite satisfactory. The rest of

this _paper i's focussed in these recent developments.

_1/

Ringman to Wooding, letter dated 27.4*1939, Sudan Government Archives, Khartoum.

2/

Newbold to Mayall, letter dated 5-2.1940, Sudan Government Archives, Khartoum.

2d

Report of the Special committee of the Advisory Council of the Nor¬

thern Sudan on the Future of the Gezira after, 1950.

es/2544—16

Page 10.

(c)

Development of the

Agricultural- Economy of the Gezira Scheme.

The first phase in the implimentation of

the 'Gezira project'

was the construction of 'Sennar Dam' for the irrigation

of the Gezi--

ra Plain. Financing was thus secured

from

the

Writish Government

and consequently a sum of ahout 14

million pounds

was

allocated for

the construction of the dam, canalisation of the scheme,

extension

of the railway network and building of ginning

factories. Work

on

the dam was started in 1.914» deferred on. the

outbreak of the first

world war, resumed in. 1922 and

completed by 1925» The total culti¬

vable area under irrigation immediately after

the establishment of

the dam amounted to approximately 100,000

feddans. (2)

The scheme was

primarily destined to. produce cotton

as

the main

cash crop. But after the nationalisation of the

Scheme,

mo;re

atten¬

tion was given to social development ^{as an}

integral part to economic

development, as well as to

diversification and intensification of.

agriculture in the Scheme.

Diversification

programmes

for the Gezi¬

ra Scheme were included in the ten year national

development plan

(1960/61—1970/71)»

and were

actually launched since that' time. The

newly introduced ^crops to the

old rotation included

groundnuts, wheat and vegetables.The intensity of

cropping is thus promoted (ï)

The Gezira Scheme

refers to the Gezira main and its extension

the "ranagil" which was established in

1957 with

an area

of

800,000 feddans

(approx. 32000 hectare-)-making-the-total• area

of the scheme 2 million feddans

(approx. 800,000 hectars).

(2)

1 feddan =

I.O45

acres.

<

(3)

The Old Gezira rotation was a

four 8

course

rotation expressed

as follows;

Cotton-fallow-cotton-fallow-sorghun-lubia/fallow-

fallow-fallow; where each course

represented 5 feddans (2 hec¬

tars).

" The present rotation is as

follows; Cotton-groundnuts- sorghun-ph'illipersoraa/Vegetables-faliow; where each

course

re¬

presents 5 feddans in case of the

standard holding (40 feddans)

and 2.5 fedd. in case of half holdings

(20 feddans) which

re¬

present about

60/

of the total

holdings in the Gezira main. In

case of the "Managil" extension where the

size of holding is

15 feddans of cotton, 2.5 feddans

of sorghun and (2.5) feddans

of lubia, e.g. with and intensity

of cropping

as

high

as

67.5/

from

44%

to

75%

and consequently the total revenue from agriculture had increased by about

62%.

In addition, the development of the Gezira agri¬

culture _served other national economic policy objectives such as import

substitution,

_increasing the volume of exportable _crops etc - etc. But it is to be noted that expansion in production whether _{for cotton or other} crops is mainly a.t-tr-ibut'ed to horizontal type of expansion rather than a

vertical one. The area

cultivated,

for example-, had increased by

335%

in 1969 in relation to the average area under cultivation in 1951-1955»

In case of cotton, the _{main crop,} the increase of area was

258%

•-and. the increase in total production was

293%

for the same years. The increase due to vertical expansion

(Yv),

^was

_12%

whereas that attributed to hori¬

zontal expansion

(Yh)

^was

_88%. ^

^Similar percentages are calculated for other crops. This situation indicated that there exists a high possibi¬

lity for

increasing

total production through an increase in productivity

of crops by means of advance technology, research and organisational

planning.

Total incomes from the scheme and hence farmer's incomes have in¬

creased in absolute terms, but this increase is off-set by the rising ill x

cost of living in the country. '

J\J

Extracted from _Gezira Agricultural statistics Bulletin, Sudan Gezira

Boards, Barakat, 1969.P.P. _2,3.

2/

Mamoun Yassin,_{ment et.} le Gezira! Son Experience socio-economique son dévelop-

son Avenir _pour le Sudan, Thèse

(Doctorat)

^{Université de}

Rennes Frances, 1971,p.p.100 102

_3/

Takingand 1941951in 1969-as a baseThe _year,presentthefamilycost ofincomelivingin the Gezirareached 165schemein 1964is estimated as L.S.

174 (approx.Ji-450).

x Ministry of

Agriculture,

Report by the Committee for the Revision of Agricultural Production Relationships in the Sudan

(in Arabic),

un¬

published, Khartoum 1973» P. 39»

Cs/2544-16

Page 12i ^.

3- Effects,of the _Market Economy on the Traditional Society of the Gezira

(a)

^{The Structural} Changes?

The agricultural transformation _{of the Gezira in the}

1920's had profound impacts on the population both socially and economi¬

cally.

"Originally

^{these areas were} _{peopled in the} main by nomadic and semi-nomadic

pastoralists,

whose flocks and herds were probably

similar in quality and productivity to those of the people

following

similar patterns of life in adjacent areas

today.^^

However, as

a first prequisite to irrigated

agriculture,

farmers were settled in villages relatively ^near to their farms enjoying limited social amenities at the first two decades after the establishment of the scheme since the first and foremost objective of- administration was the maximisation of net returns.

"The Gezira is not just a machine for the production of cotton and money; it might be the scene of a real experiment in mass

education,

in social improvements in cooperative

enterprise?

in democratic ^con¬

trol of local administration _{as well as} being an.agricultural-scheme---

of great importance to the Sudan", ^was not appreciated at least

partially, until the nationalisation of.the Scheme. This broad and

global outlook to the development process in the Gezira Scheme 'coincided _very well _with the practical visualisation to the trans¬

formation of the existing structures in agriculture which has two

goals; to improve tenants_{: -I}situations and to permit the development

- " m'

of the productive forces of agriculture. ^.

"""

. . 1 ^

_1J

International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development,

Gezira Study Mission, Livestock, Annex II in Appendix 4>

1966,

P.I.

2/

Governor General _{of the Sudan at that time.}

M.Falkowski,

"les problèmes de la _{croissance du}

Tiers-Monde",

Payot, Paris,

1968,p.62.

Truely, what was advocated by Sir James Robertson

Thus a certain percentage

(2$

at the beginning which became

3$

later)

of the total net profits were allocated for social development programmes and controlled by a committee representing the administration

as well as the tenants union representatives. The main social develop¬

ment activities were pivoted around the establishment of schools, dis¬

pensaries, drinking water supply, recreational and cultural clubs, home

economics advisory service etc. The impact of such activities on the mode of life is evident. The creation of democration institutions re¬

placed to ^a greater extent the conventional tribal system that usually

intervenes in organising rural life. Education, whether formal or in¬

formal, has been a very effective instrument of change; rightly as it

is defined : "education for rural development is a process whose main objectives are to influence the believes, the thinking and the actions

of the individual within the limits of his social groups inorder to pro¬

duce, in a desirable -direction, a modification in his way of thinking

and behaviour. The essence of this modification is however, influenced by the need for social well-being as well as by the imperatives of econo¬

mic

development.-^

Hence, in general terms, farmers started to feel the need for im¬

proving their living status as a natural outcome of the direct contacts

effected by their sons and diversified indirect linkages with urban areas.

Although the tribal ties ^are in the process of gradual disintegration,

the extended family system that carries with it in its train diversified

social taboos, habits and traditions persisted to a great extent. As far as farmers communities, as a whole, are concerned, a new element, composed mainly of agricultural labourers attracted from other regions

and neighbouring countries, came to light.

u

Marcel de Clerck,"Aspects Sociaux de l'action educative en

milieu-

rural traditionnel, Tiers-Monde", Presses Universitaires de Prance,

Tome VI, N. 22,1965,P.P. 360, 361.

CS/2544-16

^-

Page 14.

The emergence of such an agricultural labour class is an out-come

of the _very nature of agricultural production in the

Gezira.

Labour needed for doing all necessary agricultural operations is far above

the physical means of tenants. This situation led to the emergence of a big labour class specially during peaks of certain agricultural operations such as picking. Permanent labourers live in the same

vici-nity adjacent to tenants' villages whereas casual labourers are

brought for cotton picking for two or three months

(January-March)

each year. It is to be noted that, this class is not integrated at

any level or scale- in the" farmers' communities. This is a sociological problem associated with the rural mentality which was used to look

down upon hand work on one hand and is still rather suspecious about strangers on the other hand.

As far as leadership is concerned, it is worth mentioning that a new type

of'leadership

emerged with the establishment of the scheme

in contrast with the old type of conventional leadership that existed

in the Gezira rural milieu. Heads of tribes and elder members of the

family used to gear, whether directly or indirectly, the social as well

as the economic activities in their surroundings. Almost all of these activities were intended to satisfy the direct and immediate needs of the family and the community. However, as mentioned earlier, the way of life in the region was by ni means homogeneous due to the contrasting

enviromental conditions on one hand and the locational advantages of

some parts in the region on the other hand. Trade, for example, was

a mojor activity among relatively advanced communities living in the

northern part of the region.0

Tihen the scheme was grafted in the region,

the

field inspectorate together with its supporting staff automatically took over as self- made leaders particularly in as far as the production process"Të"con-

.v- .V•• m ?''■•is «

cerned. Their first and foremost objective is the implimentation of__

a designed calender of operations prepared by the management. In addi¬

tion, ^new local agricultural leaders among farmers, selected mostly on the basis of their performance in farming, represent the direct link between the management and tenants.

It is thus evident that ..there .exista some sort- o-f heterogenous classes or groups

(The

farmers or tenants, the labourers and the admini stration field

staff),

who participate in the"-production process hut without expressing any sort of social integration in the full sense of the word. .1.""

(b)

The Functional Change ^s

The Gezira agriculture, like any irrigated agriculture, involved

a high level of investment. This is over and above the fact that the national economy depended largely, whether directly or indirectly, on that scheme in its overall development activities. For these reasons a high degree of .supervision is imposed on tenants so as to guarantee

a reasonable success of the enterprise. This situation is different from the old rural communities way of life where some sort of conventio nal division of labour prevailed _among peasants and their familiesj a division of labour which was mostly a function of sex, age and social status. ^• Subsistence agriculture was a mode of life and since by defini

tion it involved a sort of unorganised and sporadic activities intended to serve in the first place the _purpose of auto-consumption, an easy casual and simple type of life prevailed. Wants were limited and finan¬

cial commitments except for spending on social occasions were almost absent.

Conversely, after the establishment of the scheme, the way of life function of the new agricultural activities, had to be transformed ^so

... . ■ M

as to cope with the element of organisation which is the dominant fea¬

ture of modern production. Consequently, ^a re-cognition, and even res¬

pect, to hand work, previously exclusively associated with low classes

in rural communities was an important pre-requisite to successful farm¬

ing. Tenants were thus expected to till their land and participate effectively in the production process. However, resistance to change might have been expressed, but by no means in a manner that hindered production since the start. Yet this does not mean that maximum parti¬

cipation and utilisation of family labour is secured. .On the contrary this low level of family labour incorporation is considered as one of the crucial problems that stand against the development of the scheme.

CS/2544-16

Page 16.

4- Relations of Production _{and, the} Supply of Labour

(a)

Relations of Production:

In the light of experience accumulated in ."Barakat" pilot farm and on the basis of the prevailing agrarian systems in the region, the state was convinced on choosing a form of profit sharing arrangement, similar, to some extent, to those already practiced between land owners and agricultural labourers. These involved either sharing of the crop or profit according to an

agreed upon percentage usually determined on the basis of the landlord's contribution in the form of land for cultivation and capital for production on one hand, and the labourer's contribu¬

tion in the form of direct labour needed for production.

The state preferred this system instead of toher systems like land rent

and/or

water rate because it was highly apprecia¬

ted and easily understood by tenants. Indeed, this policy con¬

tributed greatly to the quick settlement of tenants and hence the realisation of the. whole enterprise. But in the course of

development of the sheme, whether this land tenure arrangement needs to be modified or altered, is one of the important decision to be taken after thorough investigations with the objective of ^•

increasing

productivity

of agriculture in the region.

It Is to be _{noted also} that this profit sharing system is applied only to cotton. As far as other _crops arè concerned, pro¬

fits _go entirely to tenants. The question that poses itself at T;his

juncture,

relates to the degree of enthusiao lof tenants to cotton production whose profits are shared by the Government and the Board. The Formula used at first for dividing profits after

deducting the joint

account^1^

^{was as} follows:

u

The joint ^account between the Board and the tenants included such expenses as ploughing, seods, crop protection, picking,

stalk uprooting, _ginning, baling, transportation, storage, in¬

surance, etc.

ij

Ministry of Agriculture, Report by the committee for the revi¬

sion of agricultural production relationship in the Sudan, op.

cit. P. 28.