Modeling factors influencing production of Gum Arabic by households in Sheikan locality, North Kordofan State

Gum Arabic is a resin of immense economic and industrial value in Sudan especially among rural smallholder producers whose income and livelihood is dependent on its production. Recently, production of this important resin has seen turbulent times with reductions affecting the overall export base for Sudan. A dearth of information exists that pertains to factors influencing gum Arabic production. This study modeled the factors influencing gum Arabic produced by household in the rural areas of Sheikan Locality, North Kordofan State, Sudan. Data were collected by three multistage sampling technique targeted selected of sites. A semi-structured questionnaire was randomly distributed among 300 using a cross-sectional household survey w. Descriptive analysis was used for surveyed data to describe the status of gum Arabic production, while simple regression approach was applied to determine the factors influencing gum Arabic production. Results showed that 95% of respondents owned land for gum Arabic production, from which, 93% inherited their land. On average households owned 32.84 ± 2.14 feddans with an average of 28.68 ± 1.7trees/feddan. The average seasonal production of gum Arabic by household was 88.84 ± 7.37 kg/feddan/season. The production of gum Arabic in the area was found to be significantly influenced by income source (P ≤ 0.01), size of gum gardens (P ≤ 0.05) and amount of rainfall (P ≤ 0.1). The predictive power of the model was significantly high (P ≤ 0.001) and it is consequently recommended for prediction of gum Arabic production in Sheikan Locality, North Kordofan State. Key words: Drought, Gum Arabic, Sheikan locality, Sudan