PART A: BACKGROUND

1. Country Profile

Textfeld: S ituated in Northeastern Africa, Sudan covers a land area of about 2.5 million square kilometers, the largest land area on the African continent. Of this area, 34% is classified as desert, 20% as shrub/ semi desert, 38% as woodland/forest, 7% as agricultural and 1% as swamp/wetland. The land use is characterized as arable land (5%), permanent crops (0%), permanent pastures (46%), forests and woodland (19%) and other (30%) according to 1993 estimates. Sudan lies between 15 00 N, 30 00 E geographic coordinates. It shares its extensive borders with nine neighbors: Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya and Uganda. It possesses a stretch of coastal land bordering the Red Sea. The Sudan is one of the least developed countries (LDCs) in the world.

The population was estimated at about 30.3 million in 1999, with an average annual growth rate of 2.63 per cent (1993-1998). Population density varies widely across the country with 67% rural and 33% urban with a total average population density of over 12 persons per km²though it may exceed 50 persons per square kilometer on arable land. Over 80% of the total population is considered rural sedentary, and is divided into approximately 130 tribal and sub-tribal groups, and speaks 100 languages. The urban population has increased by 75% since 1975 and is set to increase nearly 50% again by 2015. Large areas are virtually unpopulated while the Land close to the Nile is relatively densely populated. Khartoum, the capital, with current population of nearly six million including some two million internally displaced people, is by far the largest urban settlement, followed by Port Sudan.

Sudan is endowed with extensive resources for economic development. The primary natural resources of Sudan are water. There are four main water resources in Sudan: rain fall, the Nile river, ground water, and the Red Sea. The Nile River is the country major source for irrigated agriculture and is generally considered as one of the major topographical features of Sudan along with its headstreams, the Blue Nile and the White Nile, and the tributaries of these rivers. The Nile River and its tributaries are the most prominent surface water sources. The White Nile originates in equatorial Africa and the Blue Nile originates in Ethiopian Highlands. The two rivers unite at Khartoum to form the River Nile which flows northward through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Together, these rivers annually discharge about 51 billion cubic meters of water. The largest ground water reservoirs in Sudan are contained between main aquifers: The Nuba and the Umm Rawaba aquifers which contain good drinking water quality. The Red Sea is the Sudan’s sole marine seashore, and it is the main source for minerals, fish, and salt. It provides an excellent environment for fish farming. Presently marine and coastal pollution close to Port Sudan (Sudan’s main port), industries, shipping, reclamation, and urban construction are the main factors contributing to the degradation of marine biology.

One of the main physical resources is its fertile agricultural land. Large areas of cultivable land are situated in the region between the Blue Nile and the Atbara and between the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Arable land, at some 81 million ha., makes up to 32% of the total land area, but it is estimated that only 21% of arable land (17 million ha.) is actually cultivated, this area having more than doubled over the past 10 years. A further 25% of land area is woodland or forest while 20% is semi-desert or scrub and 1% is swampy wetlands. The remainder, 22%, is pure desert. In the North, many areas that would otherwise be cultivated land are home to approximately 100 million head of various species of livestock, mainly cattle, sheep and goats.

Sudan has extensive forestry resources with different varieties. The forests and woodland of Sudan ranks the 3^rd in Africa and the 15^th in the world. The forestry resources in terms of round wood are fairly high and almost 67% are in Southern Sudan.

Sudan characterized with a large geographical expanse spanning various climatic zones and ecological conditions. Its terrain is generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west. Its climate range from tropical in the south to arid (desert) in the north. Rainfall varies tremendously with many desert areas of the arid northern region frequently experiencing total absence of rain for yeas at a time, while in the southern tropics annual rainfall can be over 1,500 mm. Khartoum, at 390 meter above sea level, has an average rainfall of 200 mm pr year while the central savannah belt of the country has between 440 and 800 mm annually. The rainy season occurs between the months of April and October and decreases in duration in the northern latitudes. Rainfall reliability also decreases relative to latitude. Mean daily maximum temperatures exceed 40^o C in the northern half and in the high thirties in the rest of the country except for the highlands along the southern border. Desertification, according to the National Drought and Desertification Control Unit, affects around 50% of Sudan’s total land area due to overgrazing, over-cultivation, inappropriate land use methods and deforestation. The Sudan is traversed by 9,000 km. Of the Nile and its tributaries which provide the main source of water for the whole country, while the tributaries which provide the main source of water for the whole country.

2. Socio-economic Perspective

Sudan is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Its poor economic performance that has led to poor infrastructure, the civil war in the south and recently in the east together with years of drought that covered large parts of the country have exacerbated the poverty situation in the country despite its considerable wealth of human and natural resources.

Over the past few decades, Sudan was buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather conditions, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trade. Agricultural production is identified as a critical area in the government of Sudan’s (GOS) developmental objectives, which is currently suffering from expanding desertification in the North where roughly half the population lives. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has kept per capita income at low levels. All these factors in addition to recurrent droughts, chronic food security problems, and regional instability have contributed to population displacement and an ongoing refugees crisis.

The Sudanese economy suffers from internal and external imbalances. In the eighties, budget deficits grew at an annual rate of 70%, while the long -term public debt as a percentage of GNP grew from 29% in 1975 to 97% in 1986. The government’s National Economic Salvation Program (NESP) was enacted in 1990 to combat economic decline and incorporated currency devaluation and price/trade liberation.

Agriculture continues to dominate the economy accounting for 40 per cent of GDP, over 20 per cent of exports (is the dominant source of export earnings in the form of cotton, livestock, and oil seeds) and employing about 75% of the labour force and provides raw materials to about 70 per cent of manufacturing industries. Dependency on agriculture, and as a result on rainfall, for many parts of the sector exposes the economy. This is even more dramatic when one considers the low level of industrial inputs to the agricultural sector.

The 750 kilometer-long Sudanese coastal zone along the Red Sea contributes to the national economy through import/export, seasonal farming, fishing, and livestock grazing. The area is relatively poor in biological productivity and suffers from serious water shortages during dry seasons. Between now and the turn of the century, the population of the coastal city of Port Sudan is projected to grow at a rate of twice the national average.

The structure of the industrial sector mainly consists of agro-industries. The main industries in the country process agricultural raw materials. This is done at relatively low technological level, which does not allow industries to be competitive either locally or internationally. The performance of the manufacturing sector is dependent on the supply of inputs from the agricultural sector. At the heart of the industrial strategy for the future development of the industry in the Sudan lies the development of agro-industries and their linkages with agriculture. The industrial sector has a considerable potential for contribution to employment, productivity, trade and overall economic growth and development.

3. Environmental Problems in Sudan

Environmental problems occur at the level of relations between people and their environment, that is, their non-living (soil, water, air) and living (plants, animals) surroundings. People intervene in their environment, and are affected by the resulting changes because the environment is crucial to their survival.

Sudan has been confronted with many drastic changes since mid seventies. The era of the seventies and eighties were calamitous as they were accompanied by the appearance of many distressful phenomena. Since that time the country experienced serious environmental degradation due to natural disasters such as succession of drought and desertification in the western part, flood and man -made disasters such as illicit tree cutting to supply fuel wood and to practice mechanized rain-fed agriculture and among all of these the civil strife which is considered one of the most devastating humanitarian crisis of the present time. IN addition to these problems, Sudan suffers from many other environmental problems such as loss of wild life and biodiversity, air pollution particularly in urban cities as a result of industrial activities and traffic conjunction, and deficiency in energy sources. However, based on considerable working experience, author of this paper believe that the magnitude and impact of these problems do not qualify them to be considered as the major environmental problems. Therefore, The major problems are: Displacement, agricultural failure and land impoverishment, desertification, soil erosion, inadequate supplies of potable water and impact of environmental degradation on women. The main natural hazard is the dust storms.

Sudan is party to many International agreements on Environment such as Climate Change, Desertification, Biodiversity, Endangered Species, and Montreal Protocol.

4. Energy

The energy resources in Sudan are biomass (67.2 percent), petroleum (16.6 percent) and electricity (mostly hydro-electricity 2.2 percent). The national electric power system is generated from thermal stations (52.4 percent) and from the three hydroelectric generating plants (47.6 percent) of Rosseirs and Sennar) on the Blue Nile, and Khashm El Girba on the Atbara river. Total available capacity drops frequently during the dry season. Thermal stations are also facing serious maintenance and rehabilitation problems. Severe shortages, unreliable services, and frequent interruption of electricity, which have been a hindrance to the continuity, and efficiency of the manufacturing sector characterize power supply.

Energy use is characterized by a high reliance on traditional fuels. Of the estimated total energy consumption of 6.7 million TOE in 1992, the overwhelming majority continues to consist of firewood, charcoal, and other forms of biomass. Commercial energy consumption is satisfied by imported oil and a small percentage of electricity. Because of the high reliance on traditional fuels, its consumption is about six times higher than commercial energy consumption. Total installed electric generation capacity is 450 MW, of which half are oil-fired thermal plants-hydro power accounts for the rest. Public access to electricity is very limited, only 8% of the total population has access to the electricity, resulting in per capita consumption of about 45 kWh per year. Sectorally, transport, industrial and residential consumers remain the largest consumers of electricity.

Sudan is an energy-rich country relative to its solar and oil resources. Annual average solar insulation is very high throughout the country, ranging from 436 W/m2 in the south to 640 W/m2 in the north. However, this potential remains largely untapped. In addition, Sudan possesses large oil bearing areas in the northwest, along the Red Sea, and in Unity-Tallyho in southwestern region. Total confirmed oil reserves were estimated to be about 2 billion barrels in May 1987, of which 5000 million were considered to be recoverable.

5. Desertification

Desertification is the conversion of productive rangeland or cropland into desert like land. It is usually caused by a combination of overgrazing, soil erosion, prolonged drought and climate change. Desertification is one of the most serious environmental problems affecting more than 60% of the country. It manifests itself in declining land productivity, food shortages, shifting sand dunes, shortage in fuel wood and deterioration in environmental quality. Moderate desertification causes a 10% - 25% drop in agricultural productivity; where as severe desertification can result in a loss of 50% or more.

Desertification in Sudan is largely attributable to the state of poverty and underdevelopment that resulting in imbalanced human activities and uncontrolled utilization of natural resources. These factors in combination with the characteristics of the physical environment such as natural disasters, shortages of rainfall and drought had eventually leaded to desertification. In the years 1984/1985 and 1989/1990 combined effects of drought and desertification led to severe food shortages and famine, which resulted in a large scale movements and change in the social structure and economic activities.

In various parts of Sudan, population pressure and in particular among rural population contribute to environmental degradation, putting heavy strains on natural resources and often depleting them faster than they can be regenerated. Sudan’s primary concerns center around the over-exploitation of its forests and marginal agricultural lands. Most of the northern areas of Kordofan and Darfur have experienced a systematic expansion of decertified areas around villages as a result of clearance of marginal lands for agriculture and the use of firewood in household energy consumption. These unfavorable conditions combined with frequent droughts led to widespread land degradation and a decline in agricultural yields. This is particularly important in view of Sudan’s heavy dependence on fuel wood for domestic energy needs.

In many areas of Sudan cutting of trees is a wide spread activity practice by both women and men. Women unintentionally play an active role in accelerating the magnitude of desertification through their domestic tasks such as use of forest resources for cooking and house construction. Men especially the elite practice cutting of trees as an economic activity to generate income through large-scale rain-fed agriculture and commercial charcoal production.

Forests are being decimated in the north by the expansion of mechanized farming and increasing demand for fuel wood. At current rates of consumption versus regeneration and aforestation, all forest areas in northern Sudan will be denuded by the year 2003.

There is a disturbing degree of correspondence between the areas at risk of desertification and deficient in fuel wood and those areas having inadequate land resources to feed their populations.”

Sudan falls within the zone where the risks of desertification are great. A total area of 65 million hectares, lying between latitude 12^o – 18^o N, extending across the country from east to west has been decertified until 1976.

Poverty is both a cause as well as a consequence of environmental degradation and resource depletion. The increasing desertification, manifested by land degradation, erosion, and depletion. The productivity has led to movement of people to other parts of the rural areas. This desertification is caused by a range of factors including the inappropriate land use methods, over-cultivation, over-grazing, and deforestation. In addition, during the 1990s and early 1990s Sudan witnessed many droughts that led to severe food shortages in the marginal areas where vulnerable farmers rely entirely in subsistence production. This exacerbated the poverty situation. The droughts of 1984 and 19990 resulted in massive population movement either to peri-urban areas, putting pressure on the weak service systems, or to other better-off parts of the rural areas, generation ethnic conflicts.

Since the successive drought that hit Sudan in the late sixties and early seventies and due to fluctuations in rainfall thereafter, many adverse impacts occur. This lead to immigration of population of arid and semi-arid areas to big cities and urban areas and the shift in economic activity and therefore resulted in overexploitation of natural resources and the various environmental problems associated with it. One of the most important environmental problems is desertification and excessive dust storms which lead to land deterioration due to degradation of physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil, increased soil erosion due to wind which affected many agricultural schemes and reduced soil fertility in addition to air pollution affecting human and animal health.

In 19990, Ali and Bayoumi conducted a study using remote sensing techniques and GIS for assessment and mapping of desertification. The study indicated that the boundary of desert in 1982 shifted about 200 km south of the desert boundary estimated by Harrison and Jackson in 1985. The study showed that the desert area in Western Sudan has increased from 205000 square kilometers in 1958 to 340000 square kilometers in 1982, and shifting southwards took place at a rate of 8 kilometers per annum.

North Darfur and West Darfur are located between lat. 13o – 14o N. they are lying in the ecological zone of semi-desert characteristics. The annual rainfall ranging between 100-300 mm. Those states are lying within the affected zone by drought and desertification in Sudan, which identified between lat 10-18^oN. The areas are at risk to drought and vulnerable to desertification if one year of drought happened. Moreover the above-mentioned states are affected by sand encroachment.

The soil texture is sandy and sandy loam.

The GOS realized the magnitude of the desertification problem and is trying to promote sustainable management of forests and natural resources. Sudan has fully ratified the International Convention to Combat Desertification in 1995. Prior to that, the country has prepared the 5-year program to combat desertification. Recently, UNDP has secured funds for the government to prepare the National Action Plan (NAP) to cope with the provisions of the convention.

6. Poverty

Despite the considerable natural resources endowment, particularly minerals, water, fertile land and the newly discovered oil reserves, Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world. Mass poverty still prevails both in rural and urban Sudan.

Information on the number of people living below the poverty line is scarce. However, more than one source has estimated the percentage of people living below the poverty line in Sudan to be in Excess of 90%. A study conducted in 1994 charted the growth of impoverishment from the late 1960. From 52% in 1968, the figure grew marginally to 54% in 1978 and then leapt to 78% in 1986 and up to 91% in 1997.

According to study on poverty, half of the population of the Sudan lives below the sufficiency level and one sixth live below the subsistence level. About 39.5 percent of urban and 86.5 percent of rural populations are poor (figures excluding Southern States).

Data form the Ministry of Manpower, suggests that in Northern Sudan urban poverty was at 84.6% and rural poverty at 94.3% with an overall averages of 90.2%. There are major regional disparities between North and South but also within the North while other major vulnerable groups such as the displaced and women cut across geographic differences. The most affected groups are people in remote areas, women and children. Among the six regions covered, Darfur ranked bottom in terms of poverty with 95.4%, followed by Kordofan (94.2%) and Northern (93.2%). The Southern States and those of Darfur and Kordofan are the worst off according to an array of indicators.

The average per capita income declined from over US$ 800 equivalent in the 1960s to below US$ 300 in the late 1990s. In purchasing power parity terms, however, the most affected areas those in remote rural areas, the urban poor and the internally displace persons (IDPs).

As the population is set to double every 17 years, poverty is spreading. Hard hit are the 45 per cent under 14.

There are many causes of poverty in Sudan, which include the civil war in the South of the country, an interplay of disasters, drought and floods which were prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, high level of inflation and removal of subsidies and price controls on essentials such as electricity, fuel, consumer goods and government services and diverting scarce financial and human resources away from development. The root causes of poverty are complex and have to be seen from a historical, socio-cultural, socio-economic, and geo-political perspective. However they could be summarized in major three dimensions, which are closely interrelated: conflict, economic and environmental constraints, and weak democratic governance.

The cost in human terms is powerfully illustrated by the displacement and refugee phenomena, collapse of the rural economy and the destruction of social services. Estimates put the current number of internally displaced persons at about 4.4 million, most of them women and children.

People have few possibilities of employment and many lack basic necessities such as water, food, clothing and shelter. The unemployment rate increased from 11.14 percent in 1993 to about 16.6 per cent in 1996. The value of salaries has over recent years declined rapidly despite periodic adjustments by the GOS. In 1995, the minimum pay of the civil service represented only 36 percent of its value in 1990, which is a loss of 64 percent of the value of the wage. In 1995, the real salaries of the senior civil service were only 28 percent of their value in 1990, and the middle scale salaries lost about 60 percent of their 1990 value. The situation is much worse in the rural areas especially in the Southern States which are still under the role of war and civil conflict.

Poverty alleviation is not easy, given the low capacity of the country's productive sectors at a time when Overseas Development Assistance has declined to the point of being almost non-existent. Basic social services are in serious decline. Agricultural productivity in Sudan is relatively low and utilization of the installed capacity in the manufacturing sector is extremely low for many plants. Investments in the replacement and renewal of plants were neglected over the years and both machinery and infrastructure have become old and obsolete. The government has therefore, adopted measures to accelerate growth by stimulating the private sector and encouraging local and foreign investments in the productive sectors of the economy.

Employment opportunities are very limited, so the small-scale informal productive sector could be considered as a potential sector for absorbing the growing labor force. The entrepreneurship needs to be developed for establishment of micro and small informal enterprises for creation of employment especially in the rural areas.

7. Conflict

Inter-tribal conflicts are certainly not new phenomena in Sudan as traditionally; local conflicts arose over utilization and ownership rights of resources, such as water, grazing areas or cultivation lands. This brings us to another aspect of the conflict: social differences.

The competition over natural resource among herders themselves and herders and farmers has increasingly been recognized as a root cause of violent conflict in the Sudan. It is estimated that resource based conflicts are inflicting higher human and material losses, year, than the main North-South itself.

8. Impact of Environmental Degradation on Women

An estimated 20 to 35 percent of all households worldwide are headed by women. Such households may be headed by unmarried women or married women, often with children as a result of the absence of husbands for economic or political reasons.

In Sudan, a high percentage of households are headed by women most of them are migrants and displaced who were affected by succession of drought in western Sudan, but most importantly the war in the southern part of the country.

Concerning the relationship between women and environment, women represent an important link in the chain between development and the environment. In the first place, women are instrumental in many activities that both utilize or affect the environment, such as agriculture, animal husbandry, handicraft production, food preservation and preparation, and water and fuel collection. Secondly, due to the nature of women’s relationship to the environment that tends to be at a basic and subsistence level, they are much more adversely affected than men by changes in the balance of nature when they occur.

The increased population growth in rural areas, intensive cultivation and excessive land use have depleted the land fertility. This has resulted in women farmers of Kordofan and Darfur working harder to farm larger areas for the same production as in the past. They travel long distances to scattered fields in order to find sufficient land. Thus, their workload has been intensified as a result of land degradation.

In addition, in Sudan as well as in many developing countries, women are the poorest of the poor. In Sudan, there are multiple roles that are socially assigned to women in family and hence in their environment, Sudanese women have traditionally been home-maker. This includes bearing and raising children, carrying water for daily needs, collecting fuel for cooking. In addition, women provide economic benefits directly to the family in many areas through their own labor. Women are very active in food production including cultivation and harvesting, and raising domestic animals.

Women, especially in rural societies, most often shoulder the burden of fetching water and firewood for their families which constitute double burden of work on them in addition to domestic responsibilities.

The traditional method of cooking causes health hazards because of the smoke that comes up from the stoves, so this adds another burden on women to find energy supplies or limit the food to be cooked for the family.

The most interesting fact is that in many cases it is hard to explain if women unintentionally contribute to environmental degradation or women are victims of environmental degradation. For instance, in Northern Kordofan province, the first areas to be felled by the women (who take the responsibility of collecting fuel wood for cooking) are at perimeter of the town, and these are gradually extended. The average distance to the wooded areas increased almost eight times in ten years. During the 1960s, women used to make five to eight trips per day from the village to the wood-lot carrying the wood on their heads, but between 1970 and 1978 only two to three trips a day could be completed.

All of these problems and conflicts directly affect the well being of the Sudanese especially in rural areas. The family responsibilities of Sudanese women have greatly increased. Rates of malnutrition, infant and maternal mortality and morbidity among the Sudanese, and in Southern families overall are far above national averages. Food security and all basic services are drastically weakened by the conflict. Women head about one in two households in Southern Sudan.

Hence, the development of women industrial entrepreneurship is a must to further the move towards rehabilitation and sustainability. This will help women to increase and manage their incomes, promote food security and develop childcare and maternal status; and hence, develop the well being of the whole family.

PART B: THE PROJECT

1. BACKGROUND

UNIDO’s Cleaner Production and Environmental Management Branch (SES/PEM) has established research linkages promoting the conservation and use of under-utilized and neglected crops as input to industry.

The plant “Jatropha Curcas” which is also known as “Physic nut’ is from the family Euphorbiacae and traditionally the plant is used as a wind-protector for farms and agricultural schemes in most African Sub-Saharan rural areas. It can grow in arid and semi-arid soils that are relatively poor, as far as fertility is concerned. This important character makes the plant very useful in combating desertification (soil erosion control) and it is also known to retain large amounts of water in its roots, branches and stem for relatively long periods of draught. It naturally grows in most of Sub-Saharan countries and easily adapting to tropical areas. The plant seed is containing a high percentage of oil, 45-48% wet basis. It is not an edible oil for either human or animal consumption, and therefore it could be used as a good source of industrial raw material to substitute vegetable oils in manufacturing industries such as soap making and paint industry.

The main aim of the project is to support the establishment of a self sustaining project model with an institutional base for reducing global warming, combating desertification in the Sub-Saharan zone, enriching crop diversification in rural agricultural areas in Africa and protecting the environment so as to obtain a maximum benefit from a naturally growing plant to serve the welfare of the community. This is through the development of the plant Jatropha which is evaluated as a potential source of surge to the industrial vegetable oil usages and also as a source of farming fuel. Institutional and human resource capacity building will be emphasized through technical and applied multi-disciplinary research.

In this respect the programme/project is subdivided into two phases: pilot projects phase and industrial large-scale phase. The pilot projects phase is containing three major stages; agricultural activity that starts with establishing farming schemes by cooperative groups in villages, namely with existing community NGOs, industrial processing will be in a form of small oil extraction unit to supply samples for testing the market vectors in different industrial sub-sectors. It could be used as substitute to edible oils in soap, detergents, cosmetics, leather, and textile and paint industry depending on the degree of quality. Part of this oil will be used as a diesel fuel substitute in the remote areas for water pumping, electricity generation, machine lubrication and general agricultural purposes and in-farm utilization in the villages. The residues of Jatropha plant in the form of cake will be used as natural fertilizers and soil nitrogen fixers.

This will provide employment to rural communities, stimulate the creation of small and medium scale industries/enterprises and entrepreneurs, consolidate the effort towards combating desertification, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and hence reduction of global warming, enriching women development issues, reinforcing poverty alleviation efforts and enhancing the standards of living.

The project will receive GEF funding under “targeted research” for renewable energy, global warming, land degradation, linkages through networking of research to appropriate industries. The project is subdivided into two phases and the present document is covering the activities of the first phase. At least research institutions in six Africa sub-Saharan countries will be involved (Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Chad, Mali, Niger). Several international workshops and seminars will be conducted during the course of implementation of the project.

2. OBJECTIVES

2.1. Development Objective

The development objective of the Project is to improve the socio-economic status of poor population in rural areas through the development of the Jatropha System in the Sudan. The Jatropha system is an integrated approach with multi-purpose objectives of environment protection, income generation, women promotion, jobs creation, food security, and poverty alleviation that will lead therefore to improving the socio-economic welfare of the rural population in the country.

2.1. Immediate Objective

The immediate objective of the Project is the development and promotion of the Jatropha system in selected regions of the country in order:

[ To minimize the environmental impact of dust storms and soil erosion hence, contributing to desertification control;

[ To improve the socio-economic status of poor women in rural areas through an innovative income-generating activity;

[ To adopt participatory and gender-sensitive as well as an environmental friendly approaches in the implementation of desertification control programmes;

[ To contribute to the development and promotion of the Jatropha system;

[ To raise community awareness on environmental issues;

[ To equip communities with useful hand skills and to make use of the available manual labor for the poor, particularly women, in operating simple and cost-effective oil extraction and soap making plants.

[ To protect the environment by reducing wood cuttings.

[ To develop and promote industrial entrepreneurship in rural areas.

3. DUTIES

Based on the Job Description/TOR (Annex I), the expert is expected to carry out the following duties:

q Collect information on national research institutions that are involved in Jatropha plant and/or similar plant development activities;

q Gather copies of technical papers and summary of research activities;

q Identify potential counterpart institutions that could be involved in different phases of project implementation. These include relevant universities, research institutions and NGOs, especially those in Western Sudan;

q Contact the Universities of Western Sudan (El Nuhud/Kordofan and Zalingy/Darfur) and collect information on research projects for combating desertification and possible inclusion of Jatropha plant;

q Call for a meeting in Khartoum and introduction of project concept and establishment of partnerships;

q Site visit to El Geneina and Zalingy to assist counterparts in establishing farming schemes with local authorities and NGOs under supervision of the above Universities;

q Agreements reached with all stakeholders; and

q Prepare a comprehensive report on the above and submit to UNIDO.

This Phase of the project could be considered as the reparatory phase to lay the groundwork for implementation of the project awaiting release of funds by the GEF.

4. TARGET BENEFICIARIES

The ultimate objective of the Programme is to improve the socio-economic status of Sudanese population through the development and promotion of the Jatropha System. To that end, the primary target beneficiaries of the project will consist of:

§ Individual men and women who will be involved in the project;

§ Women at the areas of concern and families headed by those women;

§ Existing and potential entrepreneurs at the rural areas of concern.

§ Public and private sector support institutions including research, training and technical support institutions providing services for entrepreneurs. Special emphasis will be placed on those entities responsible for promoting the creation and development of small-scale industrial enterprises; and

§ Relevant national and regional government ministries responsible for agricultural, industrial and rural development especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, etc.

The secondary beneficiaries include:

§ The rural population in the Sudan especially in the target areas;

§ Small-scale industrial enterprises in the informal sector and particularly in rural areas; and

§ Private and public sector organizations and community associations in the selected areas such as women groups, etc.

§ Public and private sector institutions providing technical, financial and advisory services for entrepreneurs.

5. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

The Project is expected to help in building-up the local capacity for the development and promotion of small-scale industrial enterprises in rural areas parallel to agricultural activity. This will assist in the development of activities aimed at helping the target beneficiaries to raise their abilities, enhance their incomes, improve their welfare and, therefore, alleviate poverty in a sustainable matter.

The institutional framework for the Project, hence, envisages several public and private sector institutions to be involved with the development of small-scale industries in Sudan and with capacity building and skills development. To that end, it is essential that all institutions interact with each other and evolve cohesive plans for the benefit of the industrial sector and the economy.

For the implementation of this Project, the institutional framework would include the following main counterparts:

§ Academic institutions e.g. University of Khartoum, Zalingi, Nihud, etc.

§ Research institutions e.g. Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre (IRCC), the National Centre for Research.

§ Relevant government ministries e.g. Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Ministry of Science and Technology, etc.

§ Public and private sector organizations e.g. Small Scale Industries and Craftsmen Union; Management Development Centre;

§ NGOs e.g. Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), Community Development Association, etc.

§ Other institutions would be involved for co-ordination purposes. These include the GEF Focal Points at the UNDP and at the Ministry of International Cooperation; and the Coordination Offices of the concerned States.

The possibility of utilizing the former UNDP Area Development Schemes (ADS) would be examined, as it constitutes a well-established institutional frame which already exists in those areas.

6. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

An agreement will be signed by the GEF, the Government of the Sudan and UNIDO on the financing and implementation of the Project. The locations where such an intervention shall be undertaken are proposed thereunder. The project will be executed by UNIDO using national and international experts. In consultation with the national authorities a focal point will be selected to liase with UNIDO. Consultations will also be held in the field with multi-and bilateral agencies and relevant organization of the UN system and NGOs, as appropriate. The project will also secure the widest possible participation of other interested parties in the country, such as local donor agencies as well as other relevant organizations.

The implementation of the project will be carried out essentially by local experts in Sudan with the technical support of a team of UNIDO Headquarters’ staff and internationally and locally recruited experts. The Project team will therefore, require a national counterpart team of qualified experts drawn from the relevant government ministries, support institutions and the private sector.

Overall co-ordination of project activities in the field will take place through a Steering Committee (SC) at the federal level. The SC will provide technical advice and co-ordination at all phases of the project implementation. The Steering Committee will consist of a selected number of representatives of the main public and private sector organizations concerned.

The contracting of local experts and procurement of equipment and sub-contractual services will be handled locally in accordance with UNIDO rules and regulations through an authorization from UNIDO Headquarters to the local UNDP and UNIDO Offices. Small items of office equipment and supplies will, however, be handled locally through an authorization from UNIDO Headquarters to the local UNDP and UNIDO Offices.

At UNIDO Headquarters, the implementation of the project would include a multi-disciplinary team composed of the SES Branch, Private Sector Development Branch, the Arab Countries Bureau, other relevant Technical Branches, as may be required.

7. EXPECTED OUTPUT

The main output of the Project will be improved socio-economic status of the Sudanese especially in the selected areas. More specifically, the outputs will consist of the following:

Ø Minimization of the adverse environmental impact, through promotion of Jatropha plantation;

Ø Creation of job opportunities for both women and men in rural areas;

Ø Generation of income for poor women in particular, and their families in general, hence contributing to poverty alleviation in the selected regions;

Ø Production of many useful products from Jatropha oil e.g. soap, insecticide, etc.;

Ø Enhancing the skills of a number of men and women industrial entrepreneurs i.e. human resources development;

Ø Provision of technical support for entrepreneurs including introduction and utilization of appropriate technologies, marketing, etc.

Ø Development and promotion of small-scale industries

Ø Food security;

Ø The project may generate foreign exchange from sales of Jatropha seeds, oil and oil products to neighboring countries;

Ø Increased number of women encouraged to participate in the project and improve their ability to manage their own small-scale industries; and

Ø Strengthening of technical support institutions.

8. SUSTAINABILITY

Involvement of community in all aspects of the project will enhance its sustainability through developing a sense of ownership. All the produced products from the Jatropha plant will be sold by the entrepreneurs themselves and all the outcome will return to them. This would create an incentive and motivation for the rural population.

The Project would focus on the development and promotion of small-scale industrial enterprises, enhancing the quality of their products as well as of specific skills through pilot demonstrations and group training activities, to upgrade skills at the enterprise level. This would, therefore, largely contribute to sustainability of the project through development of a core of skilled entrepreneurs.

At the institutional level the Project would, among others things, provide for strengthening of the national technical support, academic and research institutions.

PART C: APPROACH AND FINDINGS

Based on the duties indicated in the Job Description (copy attached as Annex I), the National expert undertook a survey to:

Ü Learn about the Jatropha curcas in Sudan

Ü Collect information on national research institutions that are involved in Jatropha plant and/or similar plant development activities

Ü Identify potential counterpart institutions that could be involved in different phases of project implementation. These include relevant universities, research institutions and NGOs.

Ü Contact the Universities of Western Sudan (El Nuhud/Kordofan and Zalingy/Darfur) and collect information on research projects for combating desertification and possible inclusion of Jatropha plant.

The methodology used towards achieving the above, included literature review, preliminary survey and consultations. Potential counterparts were identified by the expert. Individual meetings were conducted, thereafter, in order to inform the concerned national authorities about the project. Views were exchange with various institutions on the project implementation. Copies of technical papers and summary of research activities were gathered by the expert.

Two group meetings were organized by the National Expert (copies of the minutes of the meetings are included in the Annexes); the first one was to introduce the concept of the project to the concerned national authorities identified by the expert; and the later was to get their feedback. The meetings were well-attended by a number of experts from various institutions.

Some seeds (about 2 kg) were sent from UNIDO Headquarters for preliminary research work. These seeds were distributed to some potential counterparts for testing. For example, the Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre (IRCC) conducted laboratory tests for extracting oil and analyzing its physical and chemical properties. The Desert Research Department at the National Centre for Research carried out some research on planting the Jatropha at El Rawakeeb Research Station. The Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute tested the toxicity of the oil extracted from the seeds.

The directors of the University of Al Nuhud and University of Zalinji were contacted and they expressed their interest and willingness to act as counterparts during the project implementation. They expressed their readiness to include research on development of Jatropha plant as part of their research activities.

Copies of technical papers and research documents, pertaining to relevant past experience in the country, were collected from relevant institutions and their summary was prepared.

The findings will be presented in the following chapters of this report.

I. THE PLANT

1. THE JATROPHA PLANT IN SUDAN

Hamza, 1990 in “Trees and Shrubs of Sudan” mentioned that the Jatropha is known to be in Sudan in five different specie:

J. aceroides (pax & hoffm.) Hutch.:

Found in Northern Sudan, Khor Ashat, Khor Gwob, and in the dry savanna zone of the Red Sea Hills.

J. curcas L.

Introduced as a hedge plant in Kordofan, White Nile, Bahr El Ghazal and Bahr El Jebel States.

J. gallabatensis Schweinf.

Found in central Sudan

J. glauca Vahl.

Found in Northern and Central Sudan.

J. villosa Muell. Arg.

Found in Northern Sudan between Suakin and Kassala (Jebel Iskeneib).

However, according to Brown and Massey (1929), other species in addition to those five exist in Sudan. These are:

J. tuberosa Pax.

Found in Equatoria State

J. melanosperma Pax.

Found in Bahr El Ghazal State ( Jur : Jur Ghattas, Niamniam-land)

J. glauca Vahl.

Found in Northern and Central Sudan.

J. lobata Muell Arg.

Found in Red Sea State (Suakin ), Kordofan State ( Katul Gumbara).

J. glandulosa Vahl.

Found between Suakin & Kassala (J. Iskeneib).

J. Schweinfurthill Pax.

Found in Bahr El Jebel State (Madi)

J. æthiopica Muell. Arg.

Found in Bahr El Ghazal State ( Jur)

2. BACKGROUND ABOUT THE JATROPHA CURCAS L.

Family: Euphorbiaceae, Euphor Biaceae, Spurge (Euphoriaceae)

Synonyms:

Castiglionia Lobata Ruiz and Pav.

Curaus adan Sonii Endl ex Heynh

Curaus curus (L.) Britton & Millsp

Curaus indica A. Rich

Curaus purgans Medic

Jatropha acerifolia Salish

J. edulis Cerv

Ricinus americanus Miller

R. jarak Ihunb.

Arabic names: Habat Almolouk, Khirwi Engilizi

Common names: Over 30 common names (e.g. Barbados-nut, FIKI, Physic nut). Exotic to 72 countries all over the tropics

Habitat and Distribution:

The plant is Native of Latin America (8 countries). Some information specified that it is originally from Brazil. Others are suspecting that its center of origin is Mexico and Central America. The species was probably distributed by Portuguese seafarers via the Cape Verde Islands and former Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea Bissau) to other countries in Africa and Asia. The species is almost pan tropical now, widely planted as a medicinal plant. It is listed, e.g., as a weed in Brazil, Fiji, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Salvador (Holm et al, 1979). The plant is naturalized and widely distributed throughout the tropics and southern United States.

Range

Africa, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Java, Malaya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Natal, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Samoa, Sudan, Tonga, Trinidad, Venezuela.

Ecology

The current distribution of Jatropha curcas shows that its introduction has been most successful in dry regions of the tropics. As a succulent that sheds its leaves during the dry season, J. curcas is best adapted to arid and semi-arid conditions. It is very tolerant and thrives under a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions ranging from Tropical Very Dry to Moist through Subtropical Thorn to Wet Forest Life Zone. Physic nut is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 4.8 to 23.8 dm (mean of 60 cases =14.31). Jatropha curcas is highly adaptable species, and its strength as a crop comes from its ability to grow on poor, dry sites. The plant is very drought tolerant and can withstand slight frost. It could tolerate up to 4.8 months of complete drought. The plant is not sensitive to day length.

Altitude: The plant could grow at high places up to 1000 m above sea level.

Mean annual rainfall: Jatropha is a tropical plant and its water requirements range between 250-1000 mm.

Mean annual temperature: 20-28 ^oC or more.

Soil type:

The Jatropha plant is characterized by its ability to survive in poor, stony soils that makes the plant usefulness for erosion control. It grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient. On heavy soils, root formation is reduced.

Plant Description:

J. curcas is a shrub or small tree well-known in tropical South America for its medicinal properties and as an oilseed. It has been distributed to most tropical and subtropical parts of the world. It could be a suitable crop for poor peasants on marginal agricultural land since it requires few inputs. It is also resistant to drought and not palatable to grazing animals.

Jatropha curcas is a tender perennial, monoecious shrub or small tree. The plant life is about 50 years. It could grow up to 6 m high with spreading branches. It grows readily in swamp or shade and is quick growing. This shrub or small tree has large 3- to 5-parted alternate leaves. It has small, off-white flowers and its greenish-yellow apple-sized fruits contain three large black seeds. It has a pale brown bark, peeling; slash exudes copious watery latex, soapy to tough but soon becoming brittle and brownish when dry; branches glabrous, ascending, stout.

Leaves alternate, palmate, petiolate, stipules minutes; petiole 2-20 cm long, blade 3-5 lobed, 12.5 – 18 x 11-16 cm, lobe acute or shortly acuminate at the apex, margins entire or undulating, leaf base deeply cordatemglabrous or pubesdent only on the veins below, basal veins 7-9, prominent, venation reticulate.

Inflorescent a cyne formed terminally on branches and complex, possessing main and co-florescences with paracladia. The plant is monoecious and flowers are unisexual; occasionally hermaphroditic flowers occur; 10 staemns arranged in 2 distinct whorls of 5 each in a single column in the androecium and in close proximity to each other. In the gynaecium, the 3 slender styles are connate to about 2/3 of their length, dilating to a massive bifurcate stigma. Female flowers with sepals up to 18 mm long, persisting ovary 3- locular, ellipsoid, 1.5-2 mm in diameter, style bifid.

Fruit is an ellipsoid capsule 2.503 cm long, 2-3 cm in diameter, yellow, turning black. Seeds black, 2 per cell, ellipsoid, triangle-convex, 1.5-2 x 1-1.1 cm.

Jatropha is an impressive looking small tree cultivated as an ornamental throughout Africa. Seeds and leaves have a strong purgative action and should not be used internally as they are poisonous if taken internally. The plant cannot be used for food or fodder. The seeds are toxic. They are used externally for skin parasites, venereal disease, herpes, and as a dressing for wounds. The seeds contain a high percentage of oil that has numerous uses such as candles, soap and bio-diesel production.

Hamza (1990) described the Jatropha curcas plant as a shrubs or small trees up to 7 m high. Bark papery, peeling. Branches thick with viscid sap, sometimes becoming red and gummy, yellow. Leaves 5- lobed or entire, ovate rounded, about 8.5 cm long and broad, glabrous; petioles about 11 cm long. Flowers yellow-green; stamens 8, inner connate; disk deeply 5- lobed. Fruit scarcely lobed, ellipsoid capsules about 2.5 cm long, black; seeds 3. Flowers April; and fruits May.

Action

Anodyne, antidote, cicatrizant, dentifrice, diuretic, emetic, emollient, hemostat, lactogogue, laxative, narcotic, pesticide, purgative, raticide, rubefacient, styptic, vermifuge.

Cultivation

J. curcas can be grown from seeds or cuttings (0.4-1 m long). It grows readily and plants begin bearing at 4-5 months. Cuttings strike root so easily that the plant can be used as an energy-producing living fence post.

Harvesting and Productivity

The plant harvesting depends on the end use. For medicinal purposes, the seeds are harvested as needed. For energy purposes, seeds might be harvested all at once, the active medicinal compounds might be extracted from the seed, before, or after the oil, leaving the oil cake for biomass or manure. The plant productivity is about 6-8 tons per hectare.

Propagation, Reproduction and Management:

The species is easily propagated by direct seeding, pre-cultivation of seeding, transplanting of spontaneous wild plants and direct planting of cuttings. Seed should be collected when capsules split open. Use of fresh seeds improves germination. Intervals of presoaking and drying, or partial removal of the rtesta are more successful than presoaking alone. With good moisture conditions, germination takes 10 days. The seed shell splits, the radicula emerges and 4 small peripheral roots are formed soon after development of the first leaves. The cotyledons wither and fall off. Further growth is sympodial.

Pollination is by insects. The rare hermaphroditic flowers can be self-pollinating. After pollination the trilocular ellipsoid fruit is formed, the exocarp remains fleshy until the seeds are mature. Fruit development needs 90 days from flowering until seeds mature. Fruits ripen 4 months after flowering. In permanently humid equatorial regions, flowering occurs throughout the year. Shrubs begin to produce at 4-5 months and reach full productivity at about 3 years. The female flowers are 4-5 times more numerous than the male ones.

Seedlings are susceptible to competition from weeds during their early development. Therefore, weed control, either mechanical or with herbicides, is required during the establishment phase. Satisfactory planting widths are 2x2 m, 2.5x2.5 m and 3x3 m. This is equivalent to crop densities of 2500, 1600 and 1111 plants/ha, respectively. Under good rainfall conditions, nursery plants bear fruit after the first rainy season, while directly seeded plants bear for the first time after the second rainy season. With vegetative propagation, the first seed yield higher. At least 2-3 tons of seeds/ha can be achieved in semi-arid areas.

Live fences can be established quickly by planting cuttings directly in the field. Pruning as a hedge is a frequent practice. Jatropha curcas has a productive life of 40-50 years without necessitating replanting or tending.

Seeds are oily and do not store for long. Seeds older than 15 months show viability below 50%. High levels of viability and low levels of germination shortly after harvest indicate innate (primary) dormancy.

Yields and Economics

seed yields approach 6-8 MT/ha with ca 37% oil. It is estimated that such yields could produce the equivalent of 2,100-2,800 liters fuel oil/ha. In Madagascar, for example, they have ca 10.000 ha of purging nut, each producing ca 24 hl oil/ha for a potential production of 240,000 hl.

Biotic Factors

the following are affecting Jatropha curcas: Clitocybe tabescens (roots rot), clletotrichum gloeosporiocides (leaf spot), and Phakopsora jatrophicola (rust).

Some pests and diseases have been observed on J. curcas in Senegal. In Zimbabwe, powdery mildew damages leaves and flowers, alternaria causes premature leaf fall, and golden flea beetles eat young leaves and shoots. In other countries pests and diseases do not cause sever problems although millipedes can cause total loss of young seedlings. Jatropha curcas is a host for cassava viruses.

Spodoptera litura (Fab.) Boursin (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is reported as a pest of Jatropha curcas Linn. In India, Spodoptera Litura was identified as a pest of Jatropha curcas.

Seed content

The seeds contain large amount of oil. In Brazil, chemical and analysis of the seeds revealed a high protein content (26.75%) with a large proportion of essential amino acids and high lipid content (57.90%).

Oil content

In Pakistan, the fixed oil ( 41.5%) from J. curcas seeds was analyzed for its fatty acid composition and physicochemical properties. The oil consisted of palmitic acid (14.16%), stearic acid (7.68%), oleic acid (46.72%) and linoleic acid (30.31%). The physicochemical constants were: refractive index at 30^o , 1.4675; iodine value, 102; saponification value, 196.72; flash point, 227^oC; and calorific value, 8990 kcal/kg.

In India, oil contents was analyzed and found to be rich in oleic and linoleic acids.

Toxicity

Laboratory test showed that some toxic materials exist in the plant oil. It was found that the toxicity of Jatropha oil is higher than that of the castor oil. There are about 25 scientific papers on the toxicity of Jatropha and its comparison with castor oil.

All parts of the physic nut are poisonous. Bark, fruits, leaf, root, and wood are all reported to contain HCN. Seeds contains the dangerous toxalbumin curcin, rending them potential fatally toxic. The seeds taste sweet but their oil is violently purgative when eaten. The poisoning is irritant, with acute abdominal pain and nausea about ½ hour following ingestion. Diarrhea and nausea continue but are not usually serious. Depression and collapse may occur, especially in children. Two seeds are strong purgative. Four to five seed are said to have caused death, but the roasted seed is said to be nearly innocuous.

the toxicity of J. curcas seeds from Sudan (originally from Mexico) investigated in rats and mice. The seeds of J. curcas have been reported to be toxic to mice, sheep and goats. There was no toxicological effect but there was evidence of the presence of a factor unpalatable to rats and mice which restricted food intake.

In University of Khartoum: Feeding J. curcas seed at 0.5% of the basic diet to 9 male chicks (7 days old) for 2 weeks caused no deaths.

Nothing has been reported on the toxicity of the plants and its impact on the farmers. Researchers stated that the seeds are toxic to rats and sheep. In Italy , proteins extracted from seed of J. curcas were toxic to mice. The crude protein and other protein fractions from both seeds inhibited protein synthesis by a reticulocyte lysate.

Research is being conducted in Germany and Indonesia to reduce the plant toxicity

USES

J. curcas is traditionally used for medicine, pesticides, cosmetics , industrial oils, and hedges.

Medicinal Uses

The plant is used as a medicine in treatment of more than 32 cases in different parts of the world.

Used to Treat: anasarca, ascites, burns, carbuncles, caries, cataplasm, circumcision, collapse, convulsions, cough, dentition, depurative, diarrhea, dropsy, dysentery, eczema, empacho, erysipelas, fever, gonorrhea, guinea worms, hernia, incontinence, itch, jaundice, neuralgia, parturition, piles, pleurisy, pneumonia, rash, rheumatism, roundworms, sore, sprains, stomach ache, syphilis, tetanus, thrush, toothache, tumor, wounds, yaws, yellow fever .

Use: used for enema, homicide, pesticide, raticide, medicine, mouthwash, poison.

In Suriname's traditional medicine, the leaves of physic nut are used against stomachache diagnosed in children: boiled leaves for conditions of the gums and throat; tea of the leaves for stoppage of urine, constipation, and backache.

In Southern Sudan, the seed as well as the fruits is used as a contraceptive.

Seeds were formerly exported from the Cape Verde Islands to Portugal and the ‘curcas’, or purging oil, from them is a drastic purgative. They resemble groundnuts in flavors, and 15-2 seeds will cause gripping, purging and vomiting for 30 minutes. It is reported from Gabon that 1-2 roasted seeds are sufficient to act as a purgative; larger doses may be dangerous. The seeds have been substituted for castor oil and are sometimes called ‘larger castor oil’. The oil is widely used for skin diseases and to soothe pain such as that caused by rheumatism; it is an ingredient in the oily extract, known in Hausa as ‘Kufi’, which is a rubifacient for rheumatism and for parasitic skin conditions. The oil is used to stimulate hair growth. The seeds are also used in the treatment of syphilis.

Juice or latex is applied directly to wounds and cuts as a styptic and astringent to clean teeth, gums and to treat sores on the tongue and in the mouth. Branches are used as a chewing stick in Nigeria. Latex has antibiotic properties against Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogens. It also has coagulating effects on blood plasma. A methanol extract of physic nut leaves afforded moderate protection for cultural human lymphoblastoid cells against the cytopathic effects of the human immunodeficiency virus.

Preparations of the plant, including seeds, leaves and bark, fresh or as a decoction, are used in traditional medicine and for veterinary purposes. A leaf infusion is used as a diuretic, for bathing, to treat coughs and as an enema in treating convulsions and fits. Leaves are also used to treat jaundice, fevers, rheumatic pains, guinea worms sores and poor development of the fetus in pregnant women. The leaves produce a sap that has haemostatic properties; it is used to dress wounds. In Ghana the ashes from the burnt leaves are applied by rectal injection for haemorrhoids. The root bark is used to relieve the spasms of infantile tetanus and is used for sores, dysentery and jaundice. The juice of the flowers has numerous medicinal qualities.

Food

The young leaves may be safely eaten, steamed or stewed” They are favored for cooking with goat meat, said to counteract the peculiar smell. Though purgative, the nuts are sometimes roasted and dangerously eaten. In Guinea, ashes from the roots and branches are used as cooking salt. In other areas. ashes of the burned root are used as a salt substitute. Young leaves may be safely eaten when steamed or stewed. Cooked nuts are eaten in certain regions of Mexico.

Renewable Energy Source

Jatropha oil is an environmentally safe, cost-effective renewable source of non-conventional energy and a promising substitute for diesel, kerosene and other fuels. Physic nut oil was used in engines in Segou, Mali, during World War II. The oil burns without smoke and has been employed for street lighting near Rio de Janeiro.

Fruit hulls and seed shells can be used as a fuel. Direct seeds dipped into palm oil are used as torches, which will keep alight even in a strong wind. The wood was used as fuel, though of poor quality, in Cape Verde.

In France the oil of J. curcas of Brazilian origin performed well in diesel engines. the oil was used as a mixed fuel for diesel/gasoline engines, in Pakistan,.

The clear oil expressed from the seed has been used for illumination and lubricating, and more recently has been suggested for energetic purposes, one ton of nuts yielding 70 kg refined petroleum, 40 kg “gasoil leger” (light fuel oil), 40 kg regulator fuel oil, 34 kg dry tar/pitch/rosin, 270 kg coke-like char, and 200 kg ammoniacal water, natural gas, creosote, etc. In Malagasy, the following characteristics were reported on Jatropha curcas:

Crop Production 6-8 MT/ha

Fuel Production 2,100-2,800/ha

Energetic equivalent 19,800-26,400 Kw/ha

In Mali; the oil obtained from the nuts of the physic nut bush (Jatropha curcas) was used as a fuel in diesel engines.

In China, the characteristics of J. curcas (Sabu dum) oil were enumerated and compared with those of diesel oil. Engine performance with J. curcas oil was very good and there were no disadvantages to its use in place of diesel oil.

In Thailand, the use of J. curcas seed oil as a diesel substitute is known to have several advantages for developing countries. The plant is easily grown in a wide variety of soil types, including those in arid zones. The oil, even when extracted by primitive processes without the use of modern expeller and without any refining, can be used to replace diesel fluid in unmodified diesel engines.

In Burkina Faso, the potential of oil from seeds of J. curcas as a diesel fuel substitute to promote agricultural development in Burkina Faso was investigated. Trans-esterification using ethyl alcohol has been applied to reduce oil viscosity and fuel properties of the raw oil and esterified product 8 have been compared with other seed oil and diesel fuels. Successful short-term experiments to determine diesel engine performance showed that Jatropha oil ethyl ester produced 81% of the max. power, 86% of the max. torgue and 115% of the specific fuel consumption rate of diesel fuel No. 2. No distinction could be made between the superiority of either Jatropha or rapeseed as alternate fuels.

In Japan, reported the application of plant oil Jatropha curcas as a fuel for farm diesel engines. Performance (50 h- continuous) and starting tests were conducted using transesterified curcas oil, No. 2 diesel fuel, and their blends in 2 small precombustion chamber type diesel engines. 80 % blended oil operated smoothly and was able to run for more than 50 hours continuously. It produced superior thermal efficiency and fuel consumption equivalent to No. 2 diesel. There was a slight reduction in black smoke concentration when operating on transesterified curcas oil and its blended oils. The same amount of carbon deposit was observed in the cylinder head and pre-combustion chamber as with diesel fuel. It was reported that the plant could be regarded as a useful renewable fuel.

Poison

Curcas oil contains a toxin, curcasin. The albumen of the kernel is a poison, toxalbumen cursin, most abundant in the embryo. Another poison, a crton resin, occurs in the seeds and causes redness and pustular eruptions of the skin. The plant is listed as fish poison. The bark is used in some countries as a fish poison. Aqueous extracts of J. curcas leaves were effective in controlling Sclerotium spp, an Azolla Fungal pathogen.

The seed oil, extracts of J. curcas seeds and phorbol esters from the oil have been used to control various pests, often with successful results. In Gabon, the seeds, ground and mixed with palm oil, are used to kill rats. The oil has purgative properties, but seeds are poisonous; even remains from pressed seeds can be fatal.

This poison also makes the plant an effective insecticide. Mexicans grow the shrub as host for the lac insect. In India, pounded leaves are applied near horses’ eyes to repel flies.

The plant is used as an anti-snail and as a moluscicide. It has strong molluscicidal activity. In Sudan, the plant was used for Bilharzias control. In Philippines, studies on the control of snail vectors of fascioliasis; molluscicidal activity of some indigenous plants were conducted. Out of 150 indigenous plants only seven, including the J. curcas, possessed strong molluscicidal activity. It was used in India for the mosquito larvae.

Research on the anti-bacterial effect of Jatropha curcas was conducted in Sudan.

In India, the latex was strongly inhibitory to watermelon mosaic virus, which makes the plant a good anti-virus .

Further possibilities for utilizing the plant:

q Tanning of dyestuff: Leaf juice stains red and marks linen an indelible black. The 37% tannin found in bark is said to yield a dark blue dye; latex also contains 10% tannin and can be used as marking ink. Ashes from the roots and branches are used in the dyeing industry, and pounded seeds in tannin in Ghana.

q Lipids: The seeds yield up to 31-37% of valuable oil. It is used to prepare varnish after calcination with iron oxides. Hardened physic nut oil could be a satisfactory substitute for tallow or hardened rice bran oil. In Europe it is used in wool spinning and textile manufacture.

q Soap: Due to its lipid content, the oil has been used for soap making. Along with burnt plantain ashes, oil is used in making hard homemade soap.

q Wax: The bark contains a wax composed of a mixture of ‘melissyl alcohol’ and its melissimic acid ester.

q Erosion control: Jatropha could be used as a windbreak, anti-erosion barrier. in Cape Verde, J. curcas was recently planted in arid areas for soil-erosion control.

q Boundary or barrier or support: Widely cultivated in the tropics as a living fence in fields and settlements. Jatropha curcas is not browsed by cattle; it can grow without protection and can be used as a hedge to protect fields. Physic nut bushes are grown in Mali to make hedges to protect fields from erosion and damage by animals.

q Nitrogen Fixing and Soil improver: Press cake cannot be used in animal feed because of its toxic properties, but it is valuable as organic manure due to nitrogen content similar to that of seed cake from castor bean and chicken manure. The nitrogen content ranges from 3.2 to 3.8% depending on the source. Tender branches and leaves are used as a green manure for coconut trees. All plant parts can be used as a green manure.

q Intercropping: Integration of J. curcas into existing cropping systems would improve the soil fertility. In Madagascar, the plant is used as a support for vanilla.

q Lightening: The oil has been used for illumination, and candles making. Nuts can be strung on grass and burned like candlenuts.

3. JATROPHA CURCAS L. IN SUDAN

The result of the survey and the two meetings as well as individual meetings conducted by the national expert had given a fair insight into the history of this plant. It is worthwhile giving hereunder the major findings of the above- mentioned survey:

q It was found that research in Jatropha as an anti-desertification plant was not conducted by any institution in Sudan. However, the Jatropha plant was known to be one of the indigenous plants in Sudan that exists before the fifties. It grows naturally and therefore exists as a wild plant. It was also introduced as a hedge plant to many areas in Sudan such as Khartoum, Kassala, White Nile, Upper White Nile, Bahr El Ghazal and Bahr El Jebel, Equatoria and Kordofan States.

q It was listed in the (Trees and Shrubs of the Sudan) and in (Flowering Plants of the Sudan) books. It was stated that 9 different species of the Jatropha exist in different areas of Sudan.

q There is a sample of the plant at the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute, National Centre for Research.

q The idea of utilizing Jatropha was initiated and introduced to Sudan in the early nineties by institutions in India and Pakistan

q The plant was used as a hedge by the Horticulture Administration at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

q A project was carried out in Bara area at Kordofan State to introduce the Jatropha curcas. However, the project was stopped due to some problems.

q There is information on the use of the plant as an insecticide.

q The plant is known as a member of the family of toxic plants

q Information on plant oil characteristics and methods of oil extraction is available at the Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre (IRCC). Information on the applications and uses of the oil is also available.

q Some research studies were conducted on the plant in Sudan e.g. there are two postgraduate students (Ph.D. and M.Sc.) carried out research on Jatropha.

q The use of Jatropha curcas as an insecticide was investigated by a researcher at the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute. Another research was conducted earlier on utilizing Jatropha curcas as a moulscicidal against Bilharzias snails in Kassala area at Eastern Sudan.

q It was stated in the Database of the Documentation and Information Centre at the National Centre of Research that Jatropha plant was traditionally used as a contraceptive in Southern Sudan. An institution in UK conducted research in 1969 on toxicity of plant seeds that were brought from Southern Sudan. The seeds were also examined as a traditional medicine

q In 1984, the Tropical Development Research Institute in UK investigated the toxicity of J. curcas seeds from Sudan (originally from Mexico) to rats and mice. The seeds of J. curcas have been reported to be toxic to mice, sheep and goats. There was no toxicological effect but there was evidence of the presence of a factor unpalatable to rats and mice which restricted food intake. At the University of Khartoum : Feeding J. curcas seed at 0.5% of the basic diet to 9 male chicks (7 days old) for 2 weeks caused no deaths.

q In 1990, a student called Samia Al Badawi conducted her M.Sc. research on Jatropha.

q Another student called Howida conducted a research on the use of the plant as a pesticide.

q A Sudanese researcher was reported to carry out some research on the Jatropha plant in the sixties.

q In 1996, Mr. Hafiz El Obied, a researcher at the Department of Desert Research, Environment and Natural Resources Research Institute conducted a research to investigate the plant tolerance to drought compared to other plants in Al Rawakeeb Research Station near Omdurman. The seeds of the Jatropha curcas were brought from Mali. It was observed that the plant showed superior growth and survival as compared to other plants in the area. The germination of the plant took place in about 4-6 days while it was stated in the literature that the germination period is ten days. The experiment was not sustainable due to a severe problem in the pump at that time and due to lack of follow-up.

q There are many past experiences in Sudan carried out to combat desertification and to minimize soil erosion and at the same utilizing the economic value of the plant. Similar plant development activities were experienced by the development of such plants as Prosopis (misquite), Lucinia and Hohoba (Jojoba).

q The most affected areas by desertification are those, which are lying between latitude 10-18 North. In this belt the extent of desertification is ranging from very severe to severe with some vulnerable areas at risk of desertification in addition to the Northern State. These include North Darfur, West Darfur, North Kordofan and West Kordofan States. The soil texture in these areas is dominated by sandy soil. It is therefore, recommended to plant the Jatropha at the margin between decertified areas and areas at risk of desertification. This would protect the later from wind and soil erosion and therefore, minimize desertification impact.

q The community in Western Sudan would like to observe the benefits and return of the project. The economic output from various industrial activities e.g. from oil extraction, soap manufacturing and use of the oil as lubricant would convince the community to join the project.

q Similar project was executed by GTZ in Mali.

q The Jatropha curcas has many applications in traditional medicine such as its use as anti-snail against Bilharzias larvae. Currently, research is being taken by Japanese on the use of Jatropha curcas in HIV/AIDS. Preliminary investigations showed good results but it is not yet published. The seeds of the plant were reported to have an antibacterial effect. There is information indicating that the leaves could be used against Malaria. The oil was also used in some areas as a laxative for treatment of constipation.

q There are many researches on the use of the plant oil as substitute to diesel and lubricant oil. Currently the Volkswagen Co. is conducting research on the use of the plant in its cars. Rockfiller Co. is doing research on the plant as a renewable energy source.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY ON JATROPHA CURCAS L. IN SUDAN

The following research studies on Jatropha curcas were listed in the “Bibliography of Sudanese Medicinal Plants” published by the Medicinal and Aromatic Research Institute of the National Centre for Research.

+ Adam, S.E.I. “Toxic effect of JATROPHA CURCAS in mice”. Toxicology, 1974, 2, 67-76.

+ Adam, S. E. I.; Magzoub, M. “Toxicity of JATROPHA CURCAS (Euphorbiaceae) for goats”. Toxicology, 1975, 4(3), 347-354.

+ El Badawi, S. M.; Adam, S.E. “Toxic effect of low levels of dietary JATROPHA CURCAS Seeds on Brown Hisex chicks”. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, Apr. 1992, 34(2), 112-5.

JATROPHA CURCAS Seed, a multi-purpose medicinal plant product, was fed at 0.1 and 0.5 to Brown Hisex chicks for 4 w to measure its effect upon growth and structure and function of vital organs. Liver and Kidney function tests included serum SDH, GDH, GOT, total protein, potassium and other serum constituents in addition to total tissue lipids and hematology. J. CURCAS intoxication in chicks was characterized by growth depression, hepatonephropathies and widespread hemorrhages and congestion.

+ EL Badawi, S. M. A.; Adam, S. E. I.; Hapke, H.J. “Comparative toxicity of RICINUS COMMUNIS and JATROPHA CURCAS in Brown Hisex chicks”. Deutsche Tierarztliche Wochenschrift, 1995, 102(2), 75-77.

Symptoms, lesions and changes in growth, haematology and clinical chemistry were investigated in Brown Hisex chicks fed diets containing 0.5 J. CURCAS seed or 0. 5 R. COMMUNIS seed. High mortality and more severe changes occurred in chicks on RICINUS diet than JATROPHA feed. (16 ref.).

+ EL Badawi, S. M. A.; Mousa, H. M.; Adam, S. E. I.; Hapke, H.J. “Response of Brown Hiesx chick to low levels of JATROPHA CURCAS, RICINUS COMMUNIS or their mixture”. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 1992, 34 (4), 304-306.

+ El Dirdiri, N. “The combined toxicity of ARISTOLOCHIA to goats”. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 1987, 29 (2), 133-137.

+ Abdel Aziz, A.M. “Investigation of JATROPHA CURCAS L., Euphorbiaceae”. M. Sc. Thesis, Pharm., University of Khartoum, 1982.

JATROPHA CURCAS L. (Family Euphorbiaceae), a poisonous plant which is widely grown in the Southern Region of the Sudan. It was investigated for molluiscicidal activity against the snail BULINUS TRANCATUSCS; and was found to exhibit low toxicity. Phytochemical screening tests were conducted; alkaloids, saponins and sterols and/or triterpenes were detected in the different morphological parts of the plant, whilst tannins were found in the leaves and seeds only. The plant was found to be devoid of glycosides ( Cyanogenic), Anthraquine or Cardenolide). Isolation of pure alkaloid from the seed was not successful but a number of other compounds were isolated using two different methods of extractions: Acetone-alcohol extract yield four compounds. Ac/Et-I (18 H34 03), Ac/Et-11 (C30 H54 05). Ac/Et-111 (C18 H36 02) and Ac/Et-IV (C18 H35 OH); Chloroform extract of defatted seed yielded; SO2-A) C16 H32 02), SC2-B C24 H41 04) and SC3 SC2-B afforded an alcohol identified as diacetone alcohol (C 6 H 12 02). However, exact structures remain to be settled.

5. THE JATROPHA SYSTEM

the Jatropha System is a multi-purpose approach that covers the following aspects in an integrated project:

F desertification Control

by planting Jatropha as a hedge it helps to minimize desertification through erosion control. The wide leaves of the plant protects against wind while the lateral roots protects against water erosion.

F Rural development

The Jatropha system involves the use of village technology which is available and accessable and which does not require big investment.

F Income generation

through development of small-scale industrial enterprises such as utilizing the plant oil as raw material for soap making which even does not require heating unlike animal oil.

F Women promotion

Through income-generating activities, the Jatropha system helps to raise living standards of women. Additional source of income could be created by planting Jatropha as a hedge

F Food security

Planting Jatropha around farms and agricultural fields protects food crops from invading animals and erosion. The press cake could also be used as a high nitrogen content long-lasting natural fertilizer.

F Renewable energy

The Jatropha oil could be used a diesel substitute in water pumps, electric generators, etc.. The oil could also be used for lightening by manufacturing a simple lamp which does not produce smoke nor smell unlike the diesel lamb.

F Medicinal Use

The plant is traditionally used for the treatment of stomachache and rheumatism. Furthermore, the plant oil contains a poison which could be extracted and utilized for medicinal uses e.g. insecticide, against moulliscicide.

F Reduce burden on women

The Jatropha system would help in reducing burden on women in rural areas. Normally women walk for long distance to collect firewood. By making use of the plant oil in a simple cooker which could be manufactured locally. Minimize handwork by using of equipment utilizing oil as a substitute to diesel.

INTEGRATED UTILIZATION OF THE JATROPHA PLANT*

Promotion of Women	Erosion Control	Jatropha curcas L.	Poverty Reduction	Renewable Energy
Improvement of the working conditions of women (grain-mills) and income (soap production) through utilization of the Jatropha plant	Erosion control through planting of Jatropha hedges and stabilizing small dams	The Jatropha plant is used as a living fence around gardens and fields, since it is not consumed by animals	Creation of income in rural areas through use of Jatropha oil as fuel and as raw material for soap production	Production und use of Jatropha oil as fuel in stationary engines

Facilitation of soap production Strengthening of economic independency of women Payment of milling costs through Jatropha seed sales	Living fences Improvement of soil fertility Improved fallow Reduction of wind and water erosion Increase of hedge length in expectation of economic profit	Yield of oil: 0,2 l per kg of seeds Production: 1 kg seeds per meter of hedge per year Existence of Jatropha in Mali: about 10.000 km protection hedges Insecticidal and molluscicidal factors in the seeds	Sale of Jatropha seeds Improvement of rural income Reduction of cash drain from rural to urban areas Protection of food crops against gazing animals	Plant oil engines Substitution of diesel by Jatropha oil Energy production in rural areas Rural mechanization

* from Mr. Reinhard Henning

6. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

To develop "The Jatropha System" as an integrated rural development approach, the following strategic points should be respected:

Ü Introduction and development of Jatropha in different parts (geography, soil, climate) of the country

Ü Demonstration of the value of Jatropha as a plant for erosion control

Ü Demonstration of oil extraction with hand presses

Ü Demonstration of oil use as: fuel, soap making, lighting, as insecticide and molluscicide.

Ü Describing the value of the press cake as an organic fertiliser.

Ü Carrying out pilot project.

Ü Dissemination of information and technical know-how

Ü Show experiences of other countries e.g. Mali

Ü Training and pilot demonstration

Ü Enhancing the skills of a number of women industrial entrepreneurs through training workshops and pilot demonstration.

7. PROPOSED LOCATIONS FOR PROJECT INTERVENTION

The main objective of the Project is to utilize the plant in minimizing adverse environmental conditions e.g. sand storms and soil erosion. The most affected areas by desertification are those, which are lying between latitude 10-18 North. In this belt the extent of desertification is ranging from very severe to severe with some vulnerable areas at risk of desertification in addition to the Northern State. These include North Darfur, West Darfur, North Kordofan and West Kordofan States. The Northern State is a desert area frequently experiencing total absence of rain for yeas at a time. The situation in North Darfur and North Kordofan States is relatively similar to that of the Northern State. Putting into consideration the water requirements for the plant, it is recommended that Jatropha would be planted in the margin between decertified areas and areas at risk of desertification. This would protect the later from wind and soil erosion and therefore, minimize desertification impact. Therefore, West Darfur and West Kordofan States would be the best location for that purpose.

Furthermore, it is proposed to plant Jatropha along the Nile in the Northern State. This would have a dual impact; protecting the farms located around the Nile from wind erosion and sand storms, and, at the same time, utilizing the oil extracted from the plant as substitute for diesel to run the water pumps.

It is also envisaged to plant Jatropha as a hedge to protect farms and agricultural schemes from soil erosion and animals’ invasion. Other proposed locations are around water sources e.g. wells, haffirs, fola, etc.

Why Western Sudan?

The most affected areas by desertification are those, which are lying between latitude 10-18 North. In this belt the extent of desertification is ranging from very severe to severe with some vulnerable areas at risk of desertification in addition to the Northern State. These include North Darfur, West Darfur, North Kordofan and West Kordofan States. The soil texture in these areas is dominated by sandy soil. It is therefore, recommended to plant the Jatropha at the margin between decertified areas and areas at risk of desertification. This would protect the later from wind and soil erosion and therefore, minimize desertification impact.

Western Sudan includes Northern Kordofan, Southern Kordofan, and Western Kordofan States in addition to Northern Darfur, Southern Darfur and Western Darfur States. Its latitudes extend from 9.5^o N and 19.0^o N. Their western extremity is at longitude 21.75^o E and in the east is in longitude 32.0^o E. The area is about 876900 km²(34% of the area of the Sudan). More than 60% of the population are rural, settle in small villages scattered all over the area. The main occupations are agriculture and grazing. Nomads made about 24 % of the total population of Western Sudan. The ecological zones in Western Sudan are classified according to the rainfall characteristics into: desert, semi-desert and low rainfall savanna woodland.

Western Sudan is currently facing a severe drought and large quantities of food relief are being air lifted to avoid a catastrophic human disaster. Agricultural productivity is extremely low. The reduced production of dura, sesame, millet and dominance of less palatable grasses, as well as the extinction of wildlife, are all strong indicators of the seriousness of the problem. The Western Sudan is of considerable importance to the Sudan’s economy. It is ecologically vulnerable and has been exposed to recent desertification with very serious biological, social and financial losses. For these and other reasons, it is envisaged to focus on Western Sudan as the major proposed location for intervention.

II. SIMILAR PLANT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

§ The Jojoba Plant

The most similar plant development activity was carried out by developing of the Jojoba Plant. The plant was initially utilized as an alternative to oil in 1973 after the oil crisis resulted from the oil pan. It was growing as a wild plant in Arizona desert in USA. Samples of the plant were analyzed in Riverside University in California State. Thereafter, the plant was introduced in Sudan in 1977 in Arkaweet and Bara. The project was funded by UNDP and was implemented in collaboration with the Horticulture Administration at the Ministry of Agriculture and University of California. It was later planted in the areas of Sag Al Niam, Wadi Al Rawakeeb, Dongola and Kassala. The project was implemented from 1977 to 1981. The results were highly praising in Arkaweet and Bara. The plant flowered in 2-3 years as compared to 7 years in the States. In Bara area the size of the seeds was double its normal size. In 1986, the project was expanded to become a regional project covering 10 other countries from West Africa and Gulf region. The plant now exists in Arkaweet area in Eastern Sudan. The trees are 34 years old. The trees were not irrigated since 1986 and are still surviving drought. One thousand trees could be planted per feddan. The productivity was 0.5 ton per feddan though was not irrigated. This shows that the plant is an anti-desertification plant. In addition, the plant has a considerable economic return as one ton of seeds is worth about US$ 5000 and one ton of oil is about US$ 9000. The oil content is 50% of seeds weight. The oil could be extracted by simple traditional methods. The oil has many applications in industry such as lubricant oil in automobiles (cars), raw material in candles, cosmetics, soap and aromatics. The cake could be utilized as animal fodder as it contains 30 5 protein. However it contains some toxic materials that should be treated normally by simple fermentation and drying prior to its use.

The tree age is between 100-150 years and could reach up to 3 m height. The project failed due to mismanagement and lack of coordination and cooperation among counterparts. It should be managed by an organization not by farmers as it is a big project and the return is after 3 years. The kilo of Jojoba seeds is worth about US$ 4.5. There is an agreement between Sudan and the Association of the Farmers and Manufacturers of Jojoba in the US, it could buy the seeds but in a bulk not less than 15 tons. . There is a need of a UN Agency to work closely with a scientific institution to took over and supervise the project.

Further information on this plant is presented in the Annexes.

§ There are many past experiences in Sudan carried out to combat desertification and to minimize soil erosion and at the same utilizing the economic value of the plant. Similar plant development activities were experienced by the development of such plants as Prosopis chilensis (Mesquite), Acacia mellifera (kitir) and Lucinia.

§ Other successful experiences were carried out by the Forest National Corporation, SOS- Sahel, Sudanese Social Forestry Society, etc.

§ Other similar plant utilization experience was executed by the Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre (IRCC) in utilizing the fruits of the traditional Laloab tree (Balanites aegyptica) in industrial uses. The work included extraction of the oil, analysis of oil characteristics, cake analysis, etc.

§ Experience with other plants development include utilization of the Azadirachta indica (Neem tree).

§ Experience in oil extraction, medicinal and other applications of plant and plant oil are revealed in chapter of potential counterpart institutions.

III. COUNTERPART INSTITUTIONS

The institutions that could possibly be involved in the project, or that might have similar experience in one or more of the phases of project implementation, were identified. Potential counterpart institutions that could be involved in different phases of project implementation were categorized as follows:

1. Research Institutions:

1.1. National Centre for Research:

1.1.1. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute

1.1.2. Energy Research Institute

1.1.3. Information and Documentation Centre

1.1.4. Department of Desert Research (Al Rawakeeb Research Station), Environment and Natural Resources Research Institute.

1.2. Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre (IRCC)

1.3. Agriculture Research Corporation and its Forestry Research Centre.

2. Government Institutions

2.1. Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, including:

2.1.1. Forest National Corporation (FNC)

2.1.2. National Drought and Desertification Control Unit (NDDCU), Former Coordination Council for the National Drought and Desertification Control and Monitoring Unit

2.2. Higher Council of Environment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment and Physical Development.

2.3. Drought Recovery and Food Security Project North Darfur, Ministry of Finance and National Economy.

2.4. Drought Recovery and Food Security Project North Kordofan, Ministry of Finance and National Economy.

2.5. GEF Focal Point, Ministry of International Cooperation

3. Academic Institutions

3.1. University of Khartoum

3.1.1. Faculty of Agriculture; including Desertification and Desert Cultivation Studies Centre,

3.1.2. Faculty of Forestry.

3.1.3. Department of Botany- Faculty of Science

3.2. University of Zalinji, West Darfur State

3.3. University of Al Nuhud, West Kordofan State

3.4. University of Gezira, Gezira State.

4. NGOs

4.1. Sudanese Social Forestry Society

4.2. Sudanese Environment Conservation Society

4.3. Community Development Association

4.4. Horticultural Services Cooperative

5. UN and other Organizations

5.1. Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG)

5.2. UNESCO Chair in Water Resources

5.3. DED

5.4. Arab Organization for Agricultural Development

5.5. SOS- Sahel Organization

5.6. GEF Cell, UNDP

The following pages would provide a clear insight into the major potential institutions and their foreseen role in the project implementation.

1. National Center for Research [NCR]

Background:

The National Center for Research (NCR) established in 1991, (formerly the National Council for Research 1970- 19991), corporate with perpetual succession and common seal. It is independent and of similar status as universities within the frame of the Ministry of Science and technology.

Objectives:

1. To execute applied researches and studies in the field of its specialization to enhance socio- economic development.

2. To formulate plans and scientific research and suggest scientific policies and means to execute its programs.

3. To train and develop scientific, technical and administrative personnel.

4. To co-operate with rival bodies locally and abroad for exchange of programmes, information and skill.

5. To encourage scientific research in relevant areas and secure funds for their executions.

6. To participate in development and dissemination of scientific research results in cooperation with relevant bodies.

7. To give consultancy in areas of specialization.

8. To promote natural resources which did not receive attention in the past and make use of them in increasing the national income.

The Centre consists of a number of specialized institutions. The relevant potential counterpart institutions are mentioned thereunder.

1.1. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute (MAPRI)

Background

Sudan had witnessed the fusion of various cultures along with the local indigenous cultures. With unique history and vast variety of climate, terrain, fauna, and flora, the people of Sudan have developed their own unique medical traditional culture. A wide array of health protective and curative measures are known, not only for humans but also for animals. Some of these measures are useful; others might be harmful. For a considerable time, studying and developing of traditional herbal medicine has been a main concern in Sudan. Thus, in 1973, the Medical and Aromatic Plants Research Unit was established by the National Council of Research. During 1983, this Unit was upgraded to become an institute. In 1992, the Traditional Medicine Research Institute joined the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute.

Objectives:

Collection and documentation of the experience of Sudanese nation and its inherited knowledge in herbal remedies and other traditional medical practices.

1. Promotion and integration of valuable knowledge, attitudes and skills in traditional medicine into orthodox medicine and the existing health delivery system, specially primary health care system.

2. Establishment of herbarium for medicinal and aromatic plants in addition to museum for other medical traditional practices.

3. Conducting of agricultural research related to Sudanese medicine and aromatic plants with a view of their development, adaptation to foreign varieties and opening of new international markets to support the national economy.

4. Conducting of experiments on medicinal plants with view of extracting medicines to achieve self- reliance.

5. Encouragement of perfumery industries based on Sudanese aromatic plants or foreign adapted ones.

6. Extracting of flavoring agents for food and cosmetics industries.

7. Strengthening of scientific relations between the institute compartments and the local industrial institutions and organizations.

8. M. Sc. and Ph. D. courses and research supervision.

9. Training of traditional medicine practitioners (e.g. herbalists, religious healers, bonesetters…etc).

MAPRI has four main Departments. These are:

Development of Jatropha Plant

XP/GLO/00/024

SUMMARY

Brief Description:

Page

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… ..II

Acronyms …………………………………………………………………………………………VI

Acknowledgement ………………………………………………………………………………..VII

ACRONYMS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT