GERD helps Sudan to get more agricultural land: farmers

Addis Ababa, July 2020 (FBC) –Sudanese farmers said the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will create an opportunity for them to acquire more agricultural land by preventing floods in their country.

The farmers told Al Jazeera that the dam will help maintain favorable flow conditions at Egypt’s ‘Great Dam,’ which was built at northern Sudan border.

This, according to the farmers, will help them secure more land for agricultural purposes.

In addition to reducing the crop losses resulting from flooding every year, the dam would also enable them to harvest thrice a year, they said.

Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Professor Yasser Abbas, for his part said his country will benefit if Ethiopia begins filling the dam’s reservoir this month.

GERD, which is now more than 74.5 % complete, is under construction on the Abay River in Ethiopia’s Benishangul Gumuz regional state.