Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Professor Ismat Gurashi, during his visit on Thursday to the New Halfa Agricultural Corporation, held an expanded meeting with leaders of producers’ organizations and farmers in the New Halfa Agricultural Scheme. The meeting was attended by General Manager of the Sudanese Agricultural Bank Salah-Eddin Mohamed Abdel-Rahim, Director-General of Production and Economic Resources in Kassala State Engineer Khidr Ramadan, and a number of directors-general at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. The meeting was held as part of direct engagements with producers and field-level follow-up on issues affecting the agricultural season. Discussions focused on a number of challenges facing the agricultural season, particularly irrigation, financing, pest control, agricultural inputs and fuel, which are among the key requirements for maintaining production stability and increasing productivity. Minister Professor Ismat Gurashi affirmed the Ministry’s commitment to listening to producers’ concerns and working directly with them to address challenges facing the agricultural season. He stressed that the success of the season is a shared responsibility requiring concerted efforts by the Ministry, relevant institutions and farmers’ organizations. The Minister said the coming phase would witness greater field coordination and direct visits to agricultural schemes to monitor agricultural operations and identify priorities and required measures. He affirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting the New Halfa Scheme, improving irrigation infrastructure and strengthening cooperation with relevant institutions to promote production stability and increase productivity. As part of efforts to strengthen the scheme’s technical infrastructure, the Minister directed the Ministry’s General Directorate of Agricultural Engineering to prepare an integrated plan for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Agricultural Engineering Workshop at the New Halfa Agricultural Corporation, enhancing its capacity to provide technical services to farmers and improve the efficiency of agricultural machinery and equipment. For his part, Chairman of the Farmers’ Organization at the New Halfa Agricultural Corporation Dr. Abdel-Moiz Hassan outlined a number of issues and demands facing farmers, foremost among them improving the efficiency of the irrigation system, removing silt and weeds from canals and waterways, controlling mesquite trees and sweet rush plants, and providing fuel, technical support and financing to enable farmers to carry out agricultural operations on schedule and achieve production targets. The farmers stressed the importance of continued direct coordination between the Ministry and their organizations, noting that addressing irrigation challenges and controlling weeds and pests, alongside ensuring the availability of financing and fuel, are decisive factors in the success of the season and production stability in the scheme. The meeting comes within the framework of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation’s efforts to strengthen direct communication with producers, listen to their concerns and proposals, and develop practical solutions to the challenges facing the agricultural season, thereby supporting sustainable production and enhancing the role of agricultural schemes in achieving food security and strengthening the national economy.BH/BH