“Minister of Agriculture: Egypt welcomes Arab investors and integration to build more resilient and sustainable agricultural and food systems
“The minister of Agriculture reviews the measures of the Egyptian state to provide and provide food and the sustainability of Natural Resources
“The problem of food shortage is no longer just an agricultural economic problem, it has become a strategic political issue related to national security.”
Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and land reclamation, directed his counterparts from the ministers of Agriculture in the Arab region and regional and international bodies and organizations working in this sector to work together to promote integration, achieve the greatest possible trade exchange and remove obstacles to the exchange of agricultural goods between Arab countries, and work to promote and encourage investment in various agricultural fields, pointing out that Egypt welcomes Arab investors, given the significant developments on the investment climate in Egypt.
This came during his speech at the Regional Forum on accelerating food systems in the Arab region, which is being held in the Jordanian capital Amman, in the presence of a number of Ministers of Agriculture and food security, Arab countries, heads and representatives of Arab, regional and international organizations working in the sectors of Agriculture and food security, regional economic groups, banks and the private sector, engineer Khaled Hanifat, Minister of Agriculture and chairman of the Food Security Council of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Dr. Sharif Farouk, Minister of supply and internal trade, in preparation for the food systems summit to be held in Rome in 2025
The minister of Agriculture stressed that the food security system is a complex issue and is associated with many complex factors and is not limited to the agriculture sector only, pointing out that the problem of food shortage is no longer just an agricultural economic problem, but has gone beyond that to become a strategic political issue related to national security, which made countries put the issue of food security at the forefront of the development goals, foremost of which is the eradication of hunger and achieving food security.
Farouk pointed out that the Egyptian state is facing several internal challenges related to food security in addition to global challenges that significantly affect supply chains, the most important of which are the limited agricultural area, limited water, increasing population growth, and climate change, which made the food security file a top priority for Egypt.
The minister of Agriculture said that the Egyptian state has taken several proactive measures and work in parallel tracks to provide and provide food through local production, strategic storage and securing sources of import, while ensuring that prices are appropriate and affordable for everyone and maintaining the sustainability of available natural resources and their development.
During his speech, Farouk reviewed the efforts of the Egyptian state that have been achieved since the food systems summit was held in ٢٠٢١, and the measures that have been taken in this regard, as represented in: the development and modernization of Egyptian agricultural policies, executive programs and targets for the agriculture sector have been developed in order to increase production and achieve food security, as well as the establishment of a National Council for climate change headed by the prime minister and includes all relevant ministries.
The minister added that giant plants have also been established for the triple treatment of agricultural wastewater and its reuse in agriculture, as well as plant varieties and hybrids have been developed with high productivity and low water needs, and we have supplied our brothers in the Arab countries with these varieties to enhance Arab food security, in addition to expanding the establishment of grain storage silos in order to increase storage capacities and reduce losses, while diversifying the facilities for importing strategic goods, especially wheat.
Farouk said that a number of social protection programs for poor groups have also been launched, such as the Takaful and Dignity program and the Presidential Initiative “life” “Karima” aimed at improving services in the Egyptian countryside, as well as a number of legislations have been issued to protect agricultural lands, the organic agriculture law and contractual farming systems, believing in the state’s support and empowerment of the Egyptian peasant, as well as the implementation of several national projects to develop livestock, poultry and fish, improve livestock breeds using artificial insemination, develop dairy collection centers and move towards increasing Egyptian agricultural exports to many world markets.
The minister of Agriculture explained that among the main programs implemented by Egypt recently are: supporting land reclamation projects and the development of desert areas, supporting vertical expansion measures, activating the contract agriculture system, developing agricultural extension services, as well as rationalizing the use of water in the agriculture sector, increasing the competitiveness of agricultural exports, in addition to taking into account the impact of climate changes on the agriculture sector, supporting the digital transformation system in the agriculture sector, as well as supporting legislative and institutional reform measures in the agriculture sector, as well as measures to improve the investment climate in the agriculture sector, expanding the peasant support system, as well as supporting the axes of Livestock Development domestic and fish.
He said that these programs aim to achieve several strategic goals, most notably: achieving the greatest possible self-sufficiency of agricultural products by supporting the vertical expansion axis, the axis of increasing the agricultural area and horizontal expansion projects, developing agricultural extension services, supporting applied research, rationalizing the use of irrigation water, supporting digital transformation in the agriculture sector, working to create a competitive and diversified agricultural economy, as well as supporting partnerships with institutions and international development partners and the private sector, enhancing the competitiveness of agricultural products and increasing exports while supporting and developing the agricultural quarantine system and developing the capabilities of reference laboratories.
He pointed out that the Egyptian state will spare no effort to work side by side with our Arab brothers towards achieving integration, supporting infrastructure and logistics, and working to build more resilient and sustainable agricultural and food systems, with the aim of providing healthy, safe and sustainable food to our generous Arab peoples.
At the end of his speech, the minister of Agriculture expressed his hope for joint work to meet the current challenges and work to achieve food security for our peoples by promoting agricultural development and achieving the Arab partnership in order to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems
