Agriculture Ministry prepares farmers for winter

CAIRO - 28 October 2018: The Ministry of Agriculture started preparing farmers for winter by offering seeds, fertilizers and pesticides in subsidized prices at its 28 directorates distributed over Egypt’s 27 governorates, in addition to launching informative awareness campaigns.

Head of the Central Department for Seeds Production Hatem Ibrahim told Egypt Today that farmers can get seeds from cooperatives especially those of wheat, beans, clover, black beans, and peas.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation launched on Sep.15 the second prevention campaign in 2018 against the Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and the Rift Valley Fever (RVF), vaccinating to date 3.02 million head and numbering unregistered ones.

General Manager of the Preventive Veterinary Medicine Department Khaled Morsi told Egypt Today that the numbering will help taking census of the cattle population in Egypt, and thus, securing the necessary amount of vaccine.

Morsi called on breeders to benefit from the campaign and vaccinate their cattle immediately as those diseases become active in winter. He added that all veterinary units are operating in full capacity as all holidays have been cancelled for vets.

Representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to Egypt Hussein Gadin said Egypt has succeeded to achieve its food security through using a strategy that depends on modern methods of agriculture.

In a celebration held by Bibliotheca Alexandrina to mark the World Food Day under the theme “Ending World Hunger by 2030 is Possible”, Gadin said Egypt is still facing huge challenges in light of the increasing demand for natural resources, particularly water, due to the growing needs of the country's large population.

"Agriculture still consumes 85 percent of Egypt's water resources due to using traditional irrigation methods," Gadin said, noting that Egypt largely depends on import to meet its local needs of basic food crops such as wheat and corn.

The organization is jointly operating with the Ministry of Agriculture to support sustainable agricultural development in Egypt within the development plan 2030. "Efforts focus on diverse strategies to meet the target," he said, calling on officials and citizens to be aware of the need to pump in more investments and give attention to scientific research in the agriculture domain.

This event rings alarm bells about the recent increase in hunger figures, and calls upon the concerned parties to get back on the right track through showing serious commitment to one of the main sustainable development goals, shedding light on the significance of collective work to put an end to famines.

Additional reporting by MENA