Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has reviewed with Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Sayed Elkosayerthe progress of some national projects, especially those related to agricultural exports, livestock and fisheries development, and milk collection centres. During a meeting on Sunday, the president ordered the development of the ministry's assets of gardens, and parks, especially those within the Greater Cairo area, such as the Giza Zoo and Orman Garden. This should be done in partnership with long-standing foreign expertise in this field, especially with regard to management and operation, with the aim of developing and maximising the benefit of these assets and upgrading them to meet the international standards. For his part, Elkosayer reviewed during the meeting the position of Egyptian agricultural exports, which include 350 diversified products exported to more than 150 countries around the world. An annual increase of about 14% in the volume of Egyptian agricultural exports was recorded, with Egypt ranking first globally in citrus exports. He also presented the new system for mechanisation and coding of farms nationwide, with the aim of preparing a detailed digital map of export farms in all governorates that provides a complete database using the latest means. Furthermore, the Minister of Agriculture pointed out that the agricultural production sector has proven strength and high flexibility during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This was reflected in Egypt's classification as one of the few countries in the world whose agricultural production has not been affected since the outbreak of the COVID-19 until now. The meeting also touched on the fish production system from fish farms, especially the production of fish seed and the maximisation of the use of Egypt's natural lakes in the production of fish wealth, especially the Manzala and Bardawil lakes. Additionally, the president directed to expand the breeding of dairy and meat-intensive breeds for their economic return on breeders and farmers, in integration with efforts to develop Egyptian rural villages, within the framework of a decent life initiative.
