Emblem of World Food Expansion Drive: New Merowe Dam on Nile
River; New Wheat Harvest in North Sudan
In April this year, two sensational developments
in the Nile Basin in Sudan stand out as emblems of the reality
that we can succeed in doubling world food production. Our only
limitation is policy, not physical constraints.
On April 16, the last spillway gates were closed on the new
Merowe Dam, allowing the reservoir to begin filling. The site is
350 miles north of Khartoum, near the town of Merowe, at the 4th
cataract of the Nile River. This is the largest such engineering
project in all Africa. Work began in 2003, involving 4,000
Sudanese engineers, and companies from China, France and Germany.
A major bridge over the Nile now replaces a primitive ferry. The
dam, standing 67 meters at its maximum, will provide water
storage for flow through 10 generating units, with a total
installed capacity of 1.25 million kilowatts--a huge increase for
the whole nation. Five new towns have been created for 70,000
displaced residents, who now, for the first time ever, have safe
water, electricity, and other infrastructure, especially for
irrigated farming.
Also in April, about 8,000 hectares of wheat, planted last
year, were harvested with excellent yields. The farm operations
took place at the new agricultural area associated with three
resettled villages.
Although limited in scope, this symbolic first harvest is
significant and shows what can be achieved in a short time if the
right measures are taken. When the Merowe Dam project was first
begun, it was strongly opposed by the International Rivers front
group for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), whose
American Rivers sub-group opposes flood control and water
management of the Mississippi River. Fortunately, they lost.
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