Book Description

Agriculture is primarily the uppermost important sector in Sudan, contributing significantly to the country’s national economy. However, in spite of the country’s vast cultivated area, productivity remains very low. The declining agricultural production is indicative of the need for adopting sustainable agricultural development approaches to the achieve country’s food security. The attainment of sustainable agricultural production will require the proper use of all available resources such as land, water, and mineral resources, including the phosphate rock reserves. Rock phosphate deposits of potential economic value occur at more than a hundred locations in sub-Saharan African countries, including Sudan. Several geological surveys in Sudan have proven the occurrence of abundant resources of phosphate deposits in different locations in the country. For advocating the initiation of rock phosphate mining and phosphate fertilizer industry in Sudan, this book delivers sufficient and validated information on the underutilized resource of rock phosphate in Sudan and exposes its potential role in the development of sustainable agricultural production. The book presents an accurate image of the current status and prospective scenario in relation to rock phosphate deposits and the potential establishment of the fertilizer industry in Sudan. The book presents a comprehensive literature review on the history, advantages, and impacts of using rock phosphate. It also sheds light on the rock phosphate deposits in Sudan, their locations, and geological and agricultural quality as compared to rock phosphate from other global resources. The book presents two detailed case studies on assessing the agronomic value of Kurun and Uro rock phosphate rocks as fertilizers and their environmental impact assessment. The book then highlights the potential benefits of phosphate mining and the initiation of the phosphate fertilizer industry in Sudan, proposes a plan for achieving that goal, and presents recommendations to bring the Sudanese phosphate fertilizer industry to life.