Minister of agriculture Amin Abaza on Friday said satellite photos will be used to determine the exact size and location of approximately 1.3 million feddans of state land which had been squatted and cultivated in the years leading up to 2006. The use of satellite is in an effort to legitimize the status of the land. The statement followed a conference organized by the National Council for Competitiveness in Alexandria entitled Mechanisms for Using State Land. He also said that studies exploring water consumption conservation for agriculture are currently underway. President Mubarak has given instructions to the ministry to look into how agriculture can benefit from desalination projects designed to provide drinking water, according to Abaza, who added that the Desert Research Center is examining the possibility of using desalinated water in the irrigation of some crops. Minister Abaza also revealed that the center is researching crop species with high tolerance for salinity and dryness, an urgent need since climatic changes are already affecting agricultural production. He added that the state is planning to make use of desalination projects to create communities along Egypt's northern coasts. The conference also witnessed debate over the usufruct system. While members of the government approved this arrangement as a means of promoting agricultural development, investors said it will reduce agricultural expansion and discourage investment. Translated from the Arabic Edition. !--Session data--
