An Investigation on Farmers’ Comprehension of Irrigation Applications and Assessment of Agricultural Cooperatives’ Services, Khartoum State- SUDAN

Abstract

This study is based on a field survey of farmers in Khartoum State, Sudan. The aim of the study is to assess members of cooperatives’ knowledge and proficiency with irrigation water application and other agricultural technical packages. The study was carried out in the years 2018–2020. In light of the study’s findings; The vast majority of farmers (81.1%) surveyed do not know the structure of their soil. 9.1% of farmers stated that they used fertilizer based on soil analysis results, 64.8% of farmers said they use fertilizer based on guesswork, and 25% of farmers use fertilizer by asking their friends. 45.5% of farmers stated they don’t know the quality of irrigation water, and 15.9% said it’s unimportant to know irrigation water quality. A 18.2% of farmers preferred that the irrigation costs be calculated based on irrigation duration, and 51.1% of farmer said irrigation costs must be determined based on agricultural area. According to 93.2% of the farmers the electricity or diesel fee is expensive. Only 4.5% of farmers said they determined irrigation time by controlling the soil. According to the survey, 78.4% of farmers determined the amount of water to be applied to the field by guesswork. The surface irrigation method (flood irrigation) was used by 97.7% of the farmers surveyed. 18.2% of farmers prefer pressured (modern) irrigation as the most suitable irrigation method, and 68.2% prefer surface (flood) irrigation. Only 6.8% of the farmers surveyed used the drip irrigation system, and 40.9% did not use the system because they found it expensive. According to the survey, 87.5% of farmers were dissatisfied with the irrigation plan, 67% thought the irrigation time is controllable, 60.2% thought the irrigation interval is manageable. 40.9% of the farmers thought the irrigation cost is reasonable, and 45.5% thought the irrigation cost is good-very good. 68.2% of farmers stated bad-very bad evaluations to irrigation networks maintenance and repair operations. Therefore, it is important to increase farmer knowledge, offer technical packages through demonstration fields, and encourage and support the use of modern irrigation techniques.