Agriculture

Agriculture directly accounts for about one-third of employment and provides income for over half of the population. Exports have risen rapidly in recent years and there is large potential for growth. The total value of exports of foodstuffs was estimated at $1.08bn in 2011/12, a decline from the $1.18bn recorded during the previous year. This will, however, require better harnessing the potential of the small-scale farmers who dominate the sector but suffer from problems like fragmentation of land use and a lack of access to market intelligence. Traditional farming is conducted largely along the Nile River at some 4m mostly small-scale farms. These operations comprise over 95% of the sector. In terms of production value, rice was the second largest crop in 2011, at $151m. Some 4.25m tonnes were produced in 2011/12.