manpower. The River Gash Irrigation Scheme is located to the northeast of Al-Qaḍārif, while the Rahad Scheme and the famous Gezira Scheme lie to the west. With the cultivation of sesame seed, sunflower, cotton, peanuts and cereals, especially sorghum, Gedaref has become the country's granary. Thus, if Sudan could be the granary of Africa and the Middle East, Gedaref is the breadbasket of the Sudan. Light industries in the city include cotton ginning and spinning mills and soap factories. Transportation and communication The city is served by a station on the national railway network. It is linked with the capital Khartoum via Wad Medani city by a net of roads, railway, airway, and seasonal direct roads. It is also linked to Port Sudan city with roads and railway through Kassala at a distance of about 200 km. There are also roads to the Gallabat at the edge of the boundary with Ethiopia connecting Gedarif with the Ethiopian city of Gonder, and from there to the Ethiopian capital Addis Abeba. The city has also an airport called Azaza Airport . The Gedaref State Broadcasting was established in 1995 with a frequency of 1485 kHz. A television station was followed in 1996 with a range of 50 km. The Gedaref Digital City Gedaref is distinguished also by its digital city, directed by the Gedaref Digital City Organization (GDCO) which is a non-governmental and non-profit organization, founded in 2005 in partnership between Gedaref city and Eindhoven community in the Netherlands. The initiative was taken by Dr.Agnes Ovington of Eindhoven Municipality, Gedaref Public Organization for Water and Development. GDCO, is part of the Telecentres Movement where ICT is used for community development. It won many international awards. It is the winner of information for development award i4d 2007 (e-India 2007) for the inclusion of the disabled, the winner of i4d 2008 awards for the best innovations at the grassroots Telecentres, and the winner of i4d 2009 for the initiatives of civil society for development (e-Agriculture project and other e-services). Population The population of the city is mainly Arab or Nuba Sudanese. It includes the indigenous Beja people. The total population is 269,395 (as of 2008). Inhabitants origins in Gedaref have rapidly changed during the last decades. Dwellers who belong to various nationalities had settled in the area along with the indigenous people. Today the mosaic of population includes many Sudanese tribes from different regions