Egypt takes measures against rice straw burning: Environment Min

CAIRO - 9 November 2017: A sum of 11,000 tons of rice straw were collected and transferred into organic fertilizers and fodders in Beheira and Dakahlia governorates in Egypt, announced the Ministry of Environment on Thursday.

Legal action has been taken by the Ministry of Environment against farmers who continue to burn rice straw.

A number of 16 awareness seminars on measures to address the sources of air pollution and recycling rice straw and benefiting from it has been given to citizens and farmers in villages in Egypt, according to the report by the Ministry of Environment.

Burning rice straw in Egypt is considered the main cause of what is known as "the black cloud," a thick layer of smog from burning rice straw that spreads across Cairo for an extended period of time.

The Egyptian government has adopted measures to encourage gathering rice straw to put into effect an agro-waste system introduced by the ministry instead of burning it, said Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy, last month in a press conference.