Egyptian Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk held talks with Madagascar's Minister of Agriculture and Livestock François Gervais on Sunday in Cairo to explore ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation across various agricultural sectors. Farouk highlighted Egypt's agricultural renaissance over the past decade aimed at achieving food security, stressing that Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture is ready to share its full expertise and resources with Madagascar to achieve sustainable agricultural development. He pointed to potential areas of cooperation, including seed production for strategic crops and vegetables, date palm cultivation in southern regions, and rice farming under South-South cooperation frameworks. Farouk also outlined Egypt's advancements in agricultural and irrigation techniques in desert areas, noting the development of infrastructure supporting the sector, which has encouraged investment and enabled the reclamation of 4 million acres of new desert land, with more expansion underway. Farouk underlined the importance of collaboration in applied research, agricultural exports, training, and capacity building, offering training opportunities for Malagasy professionals at the Egyptian International Centre for Agriculture, alongside cooperation in agricultural education. For his part, Gervais expressed his appreciation for the meeting and voiced his aspiration for greater cooperation with Egypt, particularly in the areas proposed by Farouk. He noted that Madagascar faces severe droughts, especially in southern rice-growing regions, and struggles with low agricultural productivity, making Egyptian expertise highly valuable. The two ministers signed a memorandum of understanding to formalise cooperation in the discussed areas and accelerate the implementation of joint initiatives to promote sustainable agricultural development. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: M. S. Salama
