Egypt's Agricultural Research Centre has secured second place in the Middle East and North Africa in the 2025 Scimago regional rankings for research centres, the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation said on Wednesday. The announcement was made during a scientific event organised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in collaboration with Elsevier and the Arab Federation for Research Councils. The fourth edition of the rankings included research institutions from 22 Arab countries. Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, said the achievement reflects the "increasing research performance" of the centre. He attributed the progress to "unlimited support from the political leadership" for the agricultural research system, noting that the sector is a top priority due to its role in achieving food security. Farouk stated that the ranking serves as "international testimony to the efficiency of the Egyptian researcher" and their capacity to provide practical solutions for food security and climate change challenges. He added that the high ranking would increase the centre's opportunities to cooperate with international and financing institutions and build partnerships with global universities. The Scimago ranking is a composite indicator based on three main criteria: research performance, innovation using Scopus data, and societal impact. According to the ministry, these rankings provide a competitive advantage by improvinginternational reputation, attracting talent, and increasing funding. Adel Abdel Azim, President of Egypt's Agricultural Research Centre, said the centre's advancement to second place regionally is the result of "diligent work" by scientists across various research institutes and laboratories. He noted that the centre's current strategy focuses on transforming scientific research into "tangible reality" to serve sustainable development goals. The Scimago classification is used as a strategic tool to measure the quality of research, innovation, and scientific outputs, aiming to stimulate competition between institutions to improve institutional performance for decision-makers.
