Agriculture sector contributes by 14% to Egypt's GDP

CAIRO – 9 July 2020: Egypt’s agricultural sector contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) by 14 percent, representing 28 percent of job opportunities and 55 percent of rural employment in Egypt, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said Thursday.

Al-Mashat added in a statement that the returns of agricultural products exports increased by 20 percent in 2019 compared to 2009, and vegetable exports increased by 40 percent during this period.

This came during a meeting held by the Minister of International Cooperation, and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Al-Sayed Al-Quseir, via video conference, with a number of international financing institutions and development partners.

The meeting discussed the priority financing projects for the agricultural sector during the coming period, and the plan of the Ministry of Agriculture to advance its sectors, within the framework of the sustainable development goals and the national development agenda, in cooperation with international financing institutions.

Al-Mashat emphasized that the agriculture and rural development sector is one of the most important priority sectors for the Egyptian government, noting that the Ministry of International Cooperation worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to coordinate efforts closely during the last period, to follow up the progress made in official development assistance projects in this sector.

She said that the ministry places among its priorities in the current stage coordination with international institutions and development partners to support the agricultural sector, given its role in providing food security in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

She pointed out that many of the current projects in the agricultural sector are being implemented with the United States Agency for International Development, a number of European countries, Arab funds and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).