Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Alaa Farouk said that Egypt is developing alternative plans in the event rising or falling water supplies due to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has plans that include the establishment of agricultural drainage water treatment plants, he added.
Farouk further noted that there are projects with some international institutions to utilize rainwater in Marsa Matrouh and Sinai and store water for a full year for cultivating valleys.
Food security plans
During an interview with the “Kalema Akhera” (Last Word) program on Saturday, Farouk said that the ministry supports the idea of achieving self-sufficiency in subsidized bread.
He explained that the country produces 10 million tons of wheat, with four million tons supplied to the Supply Ministry, a first in the past year.
Farouk added that an additional 600,000 tons of wheat supplied by small farmers to the Supply Ministry has been added.
“This year, we will reach five million tons of wheat supply, and we expect wheat imports to decrease by approximately 12 percent,” he explained.
The minister noted that food security can be achieved by expanding agricultural land and implementing mega projects that keep pace with population growth.
“We have cultivated 10 million acres, and the last 10 years have witnessed a boom in the agricultural sector,” he said.
Farouk added that President Sisi’s interest in developing the main roads and road network played a major role in attracting investments.
He revealed that it is difficult to implement the agricultural cycle due to the fragmentation of agricultural holdings.
“No one will be forced to do something they don’t want. Therefore, we have adopted a pricing mechanism. Last year, 725,000 acres of sugar beets were planted, and sugar factories operated at a capacity exceeding 115 percent of their production capacity,” he stated.
