Coping with hardship in Gezira Scheme, Sudan: Farmer’s strategy of developing a system of knowledge management

Gezira scheme in Sudan is one of the most important schemes in the country, as it accounts for half of the total irrigated area in Sudan. From 1956 the Government of Sudan provided most of the agricultural services. However, from 1981 to 2005 the government reduced its support to the scheme. The present study aimed to identify the main Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) used for sharing experiences and creating, storing, disseminating and utilizing knowledge as a mechanism for coping with various challenges facing farmers in the scheme. The study was conducted in Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Sudan. Data were collected from 113 farmers selected using simple random sampling. The preliminary findings indicate that most of the farmers are using a combination of ICTs including phone and face to face meetings to communicate agricultural information and knowledge with fellow farmers, Gezira Scheme Inspectors, dealers, relatives, friends and neighbors followed by face to face meetings. There is little communication between farmers, Gezira Scheme Managers and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) researchers since ACT of 2005 restricted communication to TV, Radio, phone calls and personal interaction. About 83% of the farmers acknowledged the importance of using ICTs as supportive tools for obtaining and exchanging agricultural knowledge.