Gum Arabic in Sudan
Best Gum Arabic
Growing gum arabic is a vital source of income for many rural Sudanese communities. The industry is largely government supported, but there are local companies trying to establish processing centers in areas where it is grown. The Gum Arabic Company held a government-supported monopoly on the export of gum arabic from Sudan from 1969 to 2009. It has invested in factories to process the gum into a powder for export. The Khartoum Gum Arabic Processing Company owns 90 percent of a processing plant in Port Sudan.
The Ministry of Finance and National Economy streamlined taxes on gum arabic production, which means more profits are going to producers. It has also liberalized the gum arabic market in Sudan. The government has also funded 15 projects under the Multi-Donor Trust Fund-National, which allows countries to help Sudan’s war-torn regions.
Sudan is a leading producer of gum arabic, which comes from a species of acacia trees native to the Sahel region. This gum is used to produce paints, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It also has medicinal uses. Today, gum arabic is a valuable commodity for Sudan’s farmers and a source of foreign exchange. This product also helps combat desertification and climate change.
While the process is complex and difficult to predict, the harvest date for gum arabic in Sudan has two distinct phases. The first is taping, which takes place in the early months of the dry season. The next phase of the process is extraction, which takes place at intervals throughout the following months. Farmers in Om-Oshosh village usually begin tapping at the end of October. However, the process was delayed this year due to unusually cold temperatures and heavier rains.
Gum Arabic in Sudan
The US Food and Drug Administration considers Gum Arabic to be safe for human consumption. Among healthy female volunteers, the study also looked at the effects of GA on body mass index and fat percentage. The results were promising, and suggest that it is a potential treatment for obesity. In Sudan, many people ingest this product.
Gum arabic is a natural food that is used to improve immune function and improve the absorption of vitamins and minerals. Historically, the gum was a famine food, but it is now being used for a wider range of purposes. It is often consumed in the morning before breakfast as a supplement.
Several projects have been implemented in Sudan to help small farmers grow gum arabic. The Sudan Multi-Donor Trust Fund funded the project, which is run by Forests National Corporation. The projects provided direct support to participating GAPAs in five localities, including microfinance and matching grant sub-projects. In addition, the project also provided training and capacity building for farmers.
The Near East Foundation has supported local farmers in the region to improve their production and increase household income through a training workshop. This workshop has helped Huda, a gum arabic farmer in North Kordofan, learn how to grow the gum arabic crop more efficiently. The project also helped her understand why her traditional methods were harming her production.