CAIRO: Egypt's minister of agriculture along with the Italian ambassador to Egypt announced the success of the S.P.I.I.E project, the Integrated Production Systems between Italy and Egypt. “Even though this project lasted for a short time and it is small, its success was great and it symbolizes the cooperation between Italy and Egypt,” said Ayman Farid, Egypt's minister of agriculture and land reclamation. S.P.I.I.E, which was established in 2009 and ended during the previous months, supported the enhancement and creation of economic relationships between Egypt and Italy in the food production sector. Farid pointed out that this project, which involved several Italian and Egyptian researchers, is an example and just the beginning for the ventures that the two countries hope to establish in the future. He also pointed out that the project was a huge success, especially for the Egyptian agriculture market. “This year for the first time in Egypt our potato products exceeded 465,000 tons,” he said. “It not only increased for local production, but it also helped us serve the demands of the international market.” The initiative also aimed to strengthen the cooperation between the Mediterranean countries. Fruits and vegetables being produced in Egypt were imported to Italy and eventually imported to several other markets in the European Union. “This project helped both the Egyptian and Italian people as well as their governments,” said Claudio Pacifico, Italy's ambassador to Egypt. Pacifico added that the project resumed during the revolution and was unaffected by the recent political turmoil. The project produced a diverse array of fruits and vegetables such as grapes, tomatoes, green beans, strawberries, artichokes, melons and potatoes in both countries. It outlined guidelines for food practices that helped in improving the quality of Egyptian fruit and vegetables, as well as bettering the production process. S.P.I.I.E also helped set up guidelines for traceability from field to fork, which means that each product being exported outside of Egypt going to the European market can easily be traced back to the source where it was farmed. The Egyptian-Italian agricultural project involved several collaborations between Italian and Egyptian parties from the private and public sector, including Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Italy's Regione Siciliana, Regione Molise and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute. S.P.I.I.E complemented the Corridoio Verde or the Green Trade Initiative reinforced the food sector collaboration between Italy and Egypt by creating a better path for non-competitive and out-of-season Egyptian fruits and vegetables exports to the Italian market or through Italy towards EU markets, as well as the flows of non- competitive agricultural products from Italy to Egypt. The Framework Program Agreement through funds from the Italian State from the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development financed S.P.I.I.E.
