ABSTRACT
The development of large-scale, rainfed mechanised agriculture was initiated by the British in the 1940s. Expansion along the Savannah belt took place under different political regimes in the post-independence period. The area expanded at a rate of about200,000feddans during the period from 1946 to 1968 (ILO 1976). Khalid Affan reported an annual compound growth rate of 20.8% from 1945/6 to 1975/6 (Affan 1982: 25). More recently, this type of agriculture has been growing faster, and “... is currently the most dynamic sub sector in Sudanese agricultore” (ILO 1976). Although such developments are occurring in a number of regions in the Sudan, similar features are exhibited in all of them (Affan 1982; Simpson and Simpson 1978; Dey etal., 1984). Our concern with mechanised farming stems from the fact that rainfed agriculture is by far the most dominant form, in terms of both area and production, within the Sudanese agricultural sector. Thus, the development of large-scale capitalist production is a crucial part of the agricultural transformation of the country at large. This is particularly the case in view of the fact that it is taking place on land which was historically and traditionally used by peasants and nomads.
