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Abstract
Extensification of agriculture is one of the major factors contributing to the destruction of forests in Africa. In
Sudan, such horizontal expansion comes at the expense of land devoted to trees and other vegetation, thereby
inducing conditions that are inimical to sustainable agricultural production. Different factors have contributed to
extensification. Although high economic returns from crop (mainly sorghum) production was an important factor
encouraging extensification of rainfed mechanized farming, other factors outside agriculture have also contributed to
that expansion. This paper uses data from eastern Sudan and an acreage response model, to identify the most
important factors influencing acreage expansion. Different measures and forms of risk were used in the acreage
response model. The paper shows how policies in the energy sector can indirectly influence acreage expansion in the
agricultural sector.