Feature: Traditional plough in northern Sudan still resists technology

Amir Ziyada, a farmer from Algolid area, some 412 km north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, has been walking since early morning behind his two oxen-drawn ploughs to prepare his land for the winter season, which is to begin in northern Sudan as of late September.

"We have been depending on the traditional plough for tens of years, and despite the emergence of modern tools as tractors, but this has changed nothing of the reality," Amir told Xinhua.

Despite the advanced agricultural technology and emergence of modern agricultural tools, the traditional plough, which is a wooden tool and is drawn by animals such as donkeys, horses, mules or oxen, is still favored in preparing the land for cultivation in northern Sudan.

"The traditional plough has several advantages where it is flexible and easy to move. It helps in turning the soil and can easily be moved between the palm trees without getting damaged. These advantages are not available in modern ploughs," Amir said.

The economic conditions in Sudan pushed most of the farmers to favor the traditional plough over modern agricultural tractors due to high fuel prices and maintenance cost.

"There are some farmers who use tractors, but in a very narrow range due to the high cost of tilling by tractors. A tractor is rent for 150 Sudanese pounds (about 15 U.S. dollars) per hour. If you want to plow about five feddans, you need 5 hours to do so, which costs 750 Sudanese pounds (about 75 U.S. dollars)," Amir explained.

The traditional plough is made of three parts. The first part is domestically known as al-Azlam, which is a wooden tool tied between two animals that pull the plough; the second part is known as Al-Qasaba, which is the blade used to cut the soil; and the third part is al-Wira, which is a curved steel piece that links Al-Azlam and Al-Qasaba.

The task of the person who supervises the work of the plough is confined to pressing the blade of the plough into the ground and steering the two animals, mostly oxen, through the ropes tied to their necks.

Abdul-Raouf Al-Sunni, a farmer from northern Sudan, said the farmers are attached to the traditional plough as an important part of their occupation which they inherit from their ancestors.

"The plough has a sentimental bond as it is agriculture's first tool," Al-Sunni said.

"Since we were children, we have seen nothing breaking our lands to give us thrive other than the plough. It is not just an instrument for turning the soil, but it is part of our environment and cultural heritage. Therefore, farmers will not dispense of it, no matter what happens of development," he noted.

North Sudan, which is known for the cultivation of important crops such as beans, potatoes, wheat and corn, is the most adherent areas to the traditional plough, despite the fact that the people have started to gradually use tractors. Endit