Tunisia plants seeds of hope against climate change: AFP report

Tunisian farmers are turning to the past to ensure a future by planting indigenous seeds as the North African country suffers at a time of drought, disease and climate change.

Traditional seeds come from a genetic heritage best suited to the environment, said Maher Medini, from Tunisia's National Gene Bank, which promotes the development of sustainable agriculture in the country.

"They are reservoirs of genes hundreds, if not thousands of years old," Medini said, adding that the seeds are more resistant to the ever-growing dangerous impacts of global warming. Climate change is causing challenging variations in rainfall, temperature and humidity, creating disease in the crops, he said.

"The foundation of adaptation is diversity," Medini said. Wheat varieties developed in the 1980s are being blighted by disease in Tunisia, but farmers say that traditional varieties appear to be more resistant.

Published by: Egypt Today on 17 May 2021

Egypt allocates EGP 73.8bn for agricultural development in FY 2021/22: Planning Minister

Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, explained that the agricultural sector and the related activities of animal, poultry, and fish production are the main source of food, as well as the inputs of the industrial sector.

This sector is characterized by its wide geographical scope to include different governorates, and by absorbing the largest part of the workforce in rural areas. Its position in the national economy is also reinforced by the strength of its interconnectedness with other economic sectors, especially the sectors of transportation, storage, trade, and manufacturing.

Published by: Daily News on 3 August 2021

FAO Signs MOU With Egyptian Poultry Industry

To develop the production and sustainability of the local poultry industry in Egypt, the FAO and the country’s Poultry Farmers Union have signed an MOU. Meanwhile, the UAE receives its first poultry import from Egypt.

According to Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture, Al-Qusayr, the government prioritises poultry production as one of the fundamental pillars for the food security of Egyptians, further noting that the local poultry industry employs 3 million people, and that nearly US$6 billion dollars are invested in it.

The MOU signed between the union and the FAO provides for cooperation in areas of common interest through the transfer of advanced and innovative technological services, according to Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, adding that it will strengthen production in biotechnology and biosafety, with subsequent training and technical support for workers in the sector.

Published by: Poultry World on 25 May 2021

Mahsama Water Treatment Project in Sinai

U.S.-based Engineering News Record chose Mahsama water treatment project in Sinai as the world’s best construction work in 2020.

Mahsama Water Treatment Plant east of the Suez Canal lies over 150 feddans. The project cost L.E.3.5 billion at the highest international standards.

Mahsama was established in one year to collect agricultural drainage water that was thrown into Timsah Lake in Suez Canal to be treated and pumped into East Sinai lake.

A total of 41 switches were built to transfer the irrigation water to reclaimed lands on both sides of the drainage system. The water will be transported from Mahsama drainage system West Ismailia to Mahsama treatment plant in East Ismailia through Mahsama Siphon under the Suez Canal to irrigate 50,000 feddans.

Published by: Egypt Today on 17 May 2021

Egypt's New Delta Agriculture Project: Reclaiming Over A Million Feddans

Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Al Sayed Al Qusair stated Sunday in a phone-in that the national project of creating a new Delta spanning over a million feddans (one feddan is equal to 4,200 square meters) will be executed in two years.

The area will be cultivated with strategic crops like wheat, corn, and vegetables, the minister pointed out noting that laboratory and field studies have been finalized.

Published by: Egypt Today on 29 March 2021

Joint Agricultural Projects in Africa

International Relations Supervisor at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Saad Mousa unveiled that a number of joint projects with Sudan will be launched soon in the sector. Those include a horticulture farm and an animal production farm, Mousa said pointing out that such projects are the outcome of talks to cooperate in the fields of agriculture and animal production.  

In 2019, Egypt started establishing three fish farms and an animal farm in four African countries, said Head of the Project of African Farms, affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture, Maher Maghraby. Egypt started establishing fish farms in Algeria, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and an animal production farm in Uganda.

Published by: Egypt Today on 7 March 2021

The Effect of COVID-19 on Global Wheat Market

Countries are concerned with food security for the year ahead amid the pandemic, hence stockpiling wheat which is reflecting on its prices. This is causing exporting countries such as Russia  to introduce an export quota and taxes. While major importing countries like Egypt and Turkey see an expected increase in the 2020-2021 year as the second wave of COVID spikes international tenders.

Black Sea wheat prices experienced extreme volatility during 2020, reaching a six-year high at $258.50/mt on Oct. 23 and again on Dec. 27, and continued to push further at historically high levels while production reached near-record levels in Russia. Demand for wheat from elsewhere is expected to remain strong during the second half of the 2020-21 season (July 1-June 30), providing support to high prices.

Published by: S&P Global Platts

EGP 59.5m in Funding to Develop 42 Milk Collection Centres

Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation ElSayed ElKosayer has approved EGP 59.5m in funding to develop 42 milk collection centres in 6 governorates. The funding will be provided through the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE), and will be used to establish, develop, and raise the efficiency and operation of the 42 milk collection centres.

ElKosayer said that milk collection centres have been termed as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) initiative offering 5% interest on financing. Milk collection centre owners have also been exempted from the legal requirement for financing. They have also been exempted from the interest in establishing new milk collection centres in places where small dairy cattle breeders and dairy producers are located.

Published by: Daily News on 9 January 2021

Egyptian Strawberry sales affected by Christmas markets

Egyptian strawberries are usually a hot item in the run-up to Christmas. Not this year, says Lucien de Wit of LuBa Fresh in the Netherlands. "Many chocolate-dipped strawberries are sold at Christmas markets. So, these markets are usually this product's most important sales outlet at this time of year. That's entirely not the case now." 

Published by: Fresh Plaza on 22 December 2020

Egypt’s national AI council discusses the role of technology in agriculture

Egypt's National Council for Artificial Intelligence held its second meeting, which discussed the importance of using AI applications in agriculture, which is one of Egypt’s main economic sectors. The participants explored the technology’s possible role in overcoming the challenges that this vital sector faces, especially optimisation of irrigation and pesticides. At the same time, these applications will be used to help maintain soil fertility, as well as improve the overall quality of crops and the competitiveness of Egyptian products worldwide.

Published by: Daily News on 5 December 2020

Egypt's agricultural exports reach 4.8 Mill Tons

Egypt yearly exports agricultural products worth $2.2 billion, making up 10 percent of the country's non-petroleum exports. Egypt's agricultural exports have reached around 4.8 million tons in the period from 1 January to 25 November 2020, the country's Agriculture Minister El-Sayed El-Quseir announced on Thursday. The exports included citrus fruit, potatoes, onions, grapes, pomegranates, garlic, mangoes, strawberries, beans, guavas, cucumbers, bell peppers and eggplants, the statement added. Whereas in 2019, the volume of Egypt's agricultural exports reached approximately 5.4 million tons, according to the agriculture ministry. Egyptian farming products are found in 80 countries around the world, including Gulf and European Union countries, and China.

Published by: Ahram Online on 27 November 2020