The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the Ministry of Scientific Research to develop a fishery in Egypt under the umbrella of a new protocol. Minister of Communication and Information Technology Atef Helmy along with Minister of Agriculture Ayman Abu Hadid and Minister of Scientific Research Ramzy George, all attended the protocol signing Monday. The ministries plan to use remote sensing and geographic information systems technology to manage and develop the fishery in order to maximise the economic revenues of water surfaces. In an official statement from the communications ministry, Helmy said the protocol crystalised the cooperation between the three ministries and the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, a joint American-Egyptian project established in 1971 to promote the use of space technology, such as satellites, to monitor the use of natural resources. An as yet unnamed Egyptian telecommunications company will implement this national project, he said. "The government, through this protocol, is eager to fully benefit from lakes and farms to protect the Egyptian food security and maintain diversification of the national income resources while providing more job opportunities," a ministerial statement said. "This reflects the state's keenness to exploit its major resources and achieve an economic value-added to boost development and apply social justice." Advanced technologies will be used to uncover early on any infringements on lakes and fish farms and predict the size of fish production, which will assist decision makers in shaping national strategies. During the protocol signing, the ministers also announced a new application that uses an integrated information system to manage and develop Egypt's water resources. Helmy also discussed developments in a government initiative that aims to automate the registration of agricultural land. The six-year project, a joint venture between the ministries of Communication and Agriculture, was signed in November. All broadband tenders will be launched by the end of this month, Helmy said, and the registration project will be finalised by the end of June.
