Agri-environmental policy for agricultural development: a preliminary comparative analysis of Sudan and Malaysia

Abstract

Environmental policies are intended to incorporate consideration of environmental impacts into governmental decision making. The agricultural sector is one of the main sectors contributing to the national income in most developing countries. However, for most developing countries such as Sudan, there exist other priorities more important than environmental quality. There is also a lack of resource capacity to design and implement policies as well as a lack of public participation in policy formulation. This paper aims to explore some of the major issues related to environmental policy development in the agricultural sector in Sudan. The paper overviews the literature on environmental policies within the agricultural sector in Sudan with some comparisons to the experiences of Malaysia. The paper hopes to provide preliminary insights to environmental and agricultural development planners in Sudan, to follow a proper decision making process for reducing environmental degradation, henceforth, increasing environmental knowledge and public attitude concerning environmental policy and sustainable agricultural development.