Sudan Gezira Scheme Institutions Performance Index (IPI) Integration of Physical and Functional Modernizations Framework

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:35:58 +0000

The Sudan Gezira Scheme stands as one of Africa’s largest and most pivotal irrigated agricultural projects, underpinning Sudan’s economy and food security. The Scheme operation, irrigation and institutional function inconsistent performance were recognized as crucial parts of the project failure. The integrated institutional functional assessment outlined in this research indicates the gap in knowledge and possible system limitations. The study systematically reviews the performance of the scheme’s institutions, with particular emphasis on the integration of physical and functional modernizations within the operational framework. A significant addition to this study is the introduction of innovative historical Institutional Performance Index (IPI), which provides a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of institutional effectiveness and responds over time. The historical HIPI aggregates key metrics —including infrastructure maintenance, water distribution efficiency, governance stability, and stakeholder coordination—collected from archival scheme records data. Technical assessments equations such as DSI, LCI and UEI are formed to trace the evolution of institutional performance capacity from the scheme’s inception 1920s up to the present. The analysis shows deep integration impact of physical deterioration of the current state of infrastructure, maintenance gaps, and functional impact of management reforms such as the transition from government-led operations to farmer-based Water User’s Associations. The assessment highlights challenges arising from climate variability, water scarcity, and financial constraints, as well as the effects of strategic shifts in governance management. Innovation econometrics Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and ECM Models are developed to understand complex integrated institutions’ performance phenomena in Gezira Scheme and generate an innovate applicable solutions. Utilizing data from precision agriculture, the study identifies priority areas for improving water use efficiency, cropping intensity, and long-term financial sustainability. The findings, supported by Historical Institutional Performance Index (HIPI) trends, underscore the critical need for targeted canalization rehabilitation, enhanced functional capacity framework, and real time data-driven resource allocation. Overall, the comprehensive evaluation delivers actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders enabling them to address operational inefficiencies, adapt to changing environmental and economic conditions, and strengthen institutional resilience framework policy for the future. The empirical finding of long-term evaluation of institutional performance demonstrates that sustainable irrigation management framework requires more than hydrological planning. It demands coherent institutions, rehabilitated infrastructure, digital transformation, and governance control systems that align incentives with responsibilities. The study recommends establishing demand‑drive baseline water allocation to farmers and reduce heterogeneity and inequality through enhancing digital water distribution efficiency and increasing farmers income. The study confirms institutional behavior plays a central role in Scheme operation efficiency through integration physical and functional modernization framework and amplified results. A magnitude like –0.4 to –0.6 would mean 40–60% of disequilibrium is corrected each year, indicating meaningful institutional responsiveness.

Learning Dynamics and Appropriation of Agroecological Innovations by Experimental Farmers: Case of Farmers in the Kita District in Southwestern Mali

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:28:51 +0000

This article examines how experimental farmers learn and transform their learning into actionable knowledge. Data collection articulated qualitative and quantitative approaches among 52 farmers, through semi-structured interviews supplemented by questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. The results revealed a diversity of learning forms, with 73% of farmers involved in reproduction, including 64% with adaptation and 35% without adaptation. This high level of reproduction reflects experiential learning’s capacity to promote adaptation and sustainable appropriation of agroecological innovations, while strengthening farmers’ capacity for innovation (86.5%). However, the sharing of acquired knowledge remains low (44%). Logistic regression showed that learning among experimental farmers, understood as their ability to learn about innovations, experiment with them, adapt them, and integrate them into their daily practices with a view to improvement, is more closely associated with the support and networking dynamics in which they operate than with their individual characteristics alone. These results call for strengthening learning environments by reinforcing local networks and organizing spaces for collective reflection on experiments. This approach opens up prospects for innovation policies focused on learning processes rather than on the dissemination of innovations, by supporting local innovation systems that promote continuous adaptation to climate, environmental, economic, and health challenges. On a scientific level, it also opens up prospects for research into the institutional conditions that enable these dynamics to be consolidated over time.

Sustainable Agriculture Research, Issue: Vol.15, No.1

Sudan Gezira Scheme Institutions Performance Index (IPI) Integration of Physical and Functional Modernizations Framework

Learning Dynamics and Appropriation of Agroecological Innovations by Experimental Farmers: Case of Farmers in the Kita District in Southwestern Mali