Egypt's Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Alaa Farouk, convened the first roundtable on the future of Egyptian agriculture. The meeting brought together key stakeholders, including MP Hesham El-Hossary, head of the Agriculture and Irrigation Committee in the House of Representatives; Sami Abdelsadek, acting president of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt; Ambassador Magdy Amer, chairperson of TRACK3 Consulting, the roundtable organiser; and representatives from private sector agricultural investment companies and development partners. Minister Farouk emphasised the political leadership's significant focus on the agricultural sector over the past 11 years, highlighting its crucial role in national economic stability and food security. He described agriculture and related activities as fundamental pillars of the national economy, providing essential needs, raw materials for various industries, and substantial contributions to the gross domestic product (GDP). He also underscored its importance in fostering inclusive, balanced, and sustainable development, and its significant job creation capacity. The agricultural sector contributes approximately 15% to Egypt's GDP and employs over 25% of the workforce, with women and youth making up over 45% – the highest employment share across all economic sectors. Despite progress, the sector faces challenges including limited arable land and water resources, fragmented land ownership, climate change, and a growing population. Minister Farouk noted that Egypt has overcome significant internal challenges in the past five years, including reclaiming over 2 million feddans of desert land for agriculture. The sector has also substantially boosted foreign currency reserves through increased exports. Fresh agricultural exports reached approximately 6.9 million tons, valued at over $4.1bn (EGP 205bn), while processed agricultural exports reached $5.1bn (EGP 255bn), totalling over $9.2bn in agricultural export value. The government has invested billions of Egyptian pounds in constructing tertiary wastewater treatment plants to provide irrigation water, including the Bahr El-Baqr plant (5.6 million m3/day), the El-Mahsama plant (1.2 million m3/day), and the New Delta plant (7.5 million m3/day). Modern agricultural practices, such as advanced irrigation systems, are being implemented to optimise water usage. The Ministry is supporting research centres in developing high-yield, early-maturing, and water-efficient crop varieties. Currently, the Ministry has 60 varieties and hybrids of wheat, barley, corn, rice, fava beans, oil crops, and fodder crops to improve per-feddan productivity. A national program is underway to localise the development of new vegetable varieties, supporting seed production and reducing reliance on imports. Future plans include expanding contractual farming agreements in the Nile Valley and Delta, improving fertilizer distribution governance and oversight, and leveraging digital transformation and improved logistics and marketing systems for agricultural products. The Ministry is supporting farmers and small producers' access to the Central Bank of Egypt's favourable financing initiatives. To improve the investment climate, the Ministry is fostering collaboration between the government and the private sector. Investment opportunities exist in land reclamation and cultivation projects, livestock, dairy, poultry, and fisheries. Opportunities, advertised on the General Authority for Investment's website, include 9 sites totaling 19,000 feddans in four governorates (Luxor, Qena, New Valley, and North Sinai) for poultry farming. These opportunities benefit from the World Organisation for Animal Health's recognition of 38 poultry production facilities as avian influenza-free. Twenty-one sites for aquaculture have also been offered, including 12 in the Mediterranean Sea and 9 in the Red Sea. A national platform, developed in partnership with the private sector, promotes Egyptian agricultural exports internationally. To address air freight challenges, a Ro-Ro shipping line has been launched to support agricultural exports between Egypt and Italy via Damietta Port to Trieste, Italy, enhancing rapid sea transport and reducing transit times to Italy and other European countries. Minister Farouk concluded by affirming Egypt's strong commitment to creating a favourable investment climate that ensures private sector partnership for sustainable agricultural development, maximising resources, and overcoming challenges.
