Sudan. A ‘picture’ of irrigation spaces before April 15, 2023

The chapter explores the multiple transformations in Sudan's irrigated spaces just prior to the outbreak of war on April 15, 2023. Through the lenses of water and land, the overview of fieldwork conducted between February and March 2023, framed within what is now a 30-year research trajectory, provides an account of some of the social transformations, challenges and prospects that emerged during this period, with a focus on the Gezira Scheme, the ‘Sudanese Sugar Belt’ and major investments in pivot irrigation systems. By tracing the often-conflicted narratives surrounding Sudanese irrigated agriculture, the chapter reveals the slippages and aspirations of a system now profoundly destabilised by the ongoing war. The terrible and divisive conflict makes it impossible to make predictions other than to wonder who will benefit from the ‘development’ that will, sooner or later, reappear in the great plains of the Nile.