Abstract
The economic and environmental benefits of gum arabic production in the Sudano-Sahelian zone appear attractive. However, the farm-level economics of gum arabic production is complex, and much more needs to be understood about the economic-environmental interactions determining farmers' gum cropping. The following paper explores these issues in Sudan through a crop profitability analysis of gum and other crops combined with financial and economic analyses of six representative gum arabic production systems. Although the returns from gum compare favourably with other crops in Sudan, essential investments by farmers in cultivating gum will depend on its real producer price being maintained and other incentives determining the relative profitability of gum.
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Barbier, E.B. Rehabilitating gum arabic systems in Sudan: Economic and environmental implications. Environmental and Resource Economics 2, 341–358 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304966
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304966