TO COPE with local shortages in wheat, the government should pay farmers more for their crops, the Higher Committee for Wheat recommended in a meeting last week. The meeting was held at the Agricultural Research Centre and was attended by Abdel-Salam Gomaa, head of the committee and representatives from the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the General Authority of Food Commodities and a number of agricultural experts. The committee recommended that the General Authority for Food Commodities should buy the wheat from farmers at not less than LE250 per ardab. This decision aims at encouraging farmers to expand wheat cultivation and to match the increase in international wheat prices which reached a high of $353 per tonne in addition to $100 as transportation fees. The Wheat Seeds Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation recorded increased sales of wheat seeds to farmers this month. The committee expects an increase of wheat-cultivated lands to 3.5 million feddans this year in response to a media campaign aimed at encouraging farmers to cultivate wheat. Moreover, the committee discussed a recent report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which asserted an increase of prices of all food in 2007/2008. The FAO report explained that such increase might negatively affect the developing countries' economies and the health of poor people. For example the report said that wheat prices were raised by 100 per cent, poultry by 26 per cent, meat by 18 per cent while dairy products increased by 46 per cent. The committee recommended that Egypt should depend more on local production and try to achieve self sufficiency. The committee presented a memo to the prime minister including its recommendations for wheat prices.
