In the early 1990s, agriculture and farm animal raising were the main sources of livelihood in Sudan for about 61% of the working population. Agricultural products regularly accounted for about 95% of the nation's exports. Industry was mostly agriculturally-based, accounting for 15% of GDP in 1988. The average annual growth of agricultural production declined in the 1980s to 0.8 % for the time 1980-87, as compared with 2.9% for the time 1965-80. Similarly, the sector's total contribution to GDP declined over the years, as the other sectors of the economy expanded. Total sectoral activities, which contributed an around 40% of GDP in the early 1970s, had fluctuated during the 1980s and described about 36% in 1988. Crop cultivation was separated between a modern, market-oriented area comprising mechanized, large-scale irrigated and rainfed farming and small-scale farming following orthodox practices that was carried on in the other parts of the nation where rainfall or other water sources were sufficient for cultivation.

The forestry subsector comprised both orthodox gatherers of firewood and producers of charcoal-the main sources of fuel for homes and some industry in urban areas-and a modern timber and sawmilling industry, the latter government owned. around 21 million cubic meters of wood, mainly for fuel, were cut in 1987. Gum arabic production in FY 1986-87 was about 40,000 tons. In the late 1980s, it became in most years the second biggest export after cotton, amounting to about 11 % of total exports.