To prioritise and respond to the escalating global food security crisis, Egypt is taking steps to ensure that both global and local food security is restored through international cooperation, and that more support is provided to the most affected smallholder farmers, according to Minster of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat. Al-Mashat made her remarks during a virtual panel titled 'Coordinating Action in a Global Alliance for Food Security' at an international conference focused on 'Uniting for Global Food Security' that was held by the German government and witnessed the participation of several global institutions. In her speech, Al-Mashat emphasised that local food security is interconnected with global collective action, and that Egypt is integrating global and local perspectives through a "locally global lens" that is responsive to the needs of the communities and particularly smallholder farmers, who only receive 1.7% of climate finance, according to a report released by the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development. The Minister also commended on the role of the Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), which was established by the Group of Seven (G7), as well as the launch of the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy, and Finance by the UN to respond to the global food security crisis. Since 2014, Egypt has expanded its investments in the national project of silos, which aims to build 50 grain and wheat storage silos across 17 governorates. This national project raised the country's storage capacity from 1.2m tonnes to 3.4m tonnes between 2014 and 2018. The minister added that 50% of Egypt's consumed wheat is locally produced, as Egypt has been able to achieve self-sufficiency by cultivating 3.7m acres with wheat, producing 9.5 to 10m tonnes. Furthermore, in light of Egypt's presidency of the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Chang (COP 27) — which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this November — the country will focus on illustrating how national and global pledges regarding climate action can be turned into implementable projects, and also highlight the need to close climate financing gaps through risk mitigation tools.
