CAIRO - A black nightmare visits the sky of Cairo and a number of Delta governorates at this time every year; it is known as the black cloud and mainly is caused by the burning of hundreds of tonnes of rice straw, after the rice grain has been harvested. Since 2001, this problem has worsened and its hazards increased, not only because it represents a health crisis to citizens, but also it causes various respiratory problems and exacerbating asthma. It also costs the nation fortune through squandering of rice straw every year, whereas countries throughout the world use rice straw in various manufacturing processes in environment friendly industries to produce wood substitutes and paper while cultivators in Egypt are still getting rid of it by burning. Although studies have been carried in order to overcome this problem, it has actually increased, which had caused experts to attribute the problem to farmers' lack of environmental awareness. The solution lies in adopting the scientific methods and raising cultivators' awareness so as to change their ways of getting rid of rice straw. Experts have suggested some possible solutions to overcome the above problem, such as Ibrahim Osman at Egypt's Smart Village, who has come up with an idea, which he believes will limit this annual occurrence. Additionally, he says that it will save the state some LE2 billion ($336 million) annually in avoiding the consequences of burning rice straw in the field in which it has been grown. The method is based on gathering and then spreading the rice straw on all of the farmer's agricultural land, and then burning it at noon when there are high quantities of atmospheric oxygen available as a result of photosynthesis. People would not be affected by the resulting fires, without the 'black cloud' smoke that leads to chest infections, asthma, chest diseases and eye allergies. Osman stressed that this method would save 50 per cent of present fertilisers, because the natural products of burning rice straw are superior to the chemical fertilisers used in agriculture. He explained that this would be achieved through layering the ash resulting from burning the straw over the ground. With the passing of time, it will raise the land's fertility. This proposed method is supported by Abdel-Azim Tantawi, former head of the Agricultural Research Centre, who noted fines formerly imposed by the Ministry of the Environment on rice cultivators resulted in the subterfuge of them burning the rice straw at night causing the black cloud. When the black cloud first appeared in 2001, a national campaign was launched to safely dispose of agricultural wastes such as rice straw, financed by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The campaign made a number of recommendations, which, on being carried out, would overcome this atmospheric nightmare in the skies of Lower Egypt. These recommendations were based on converting from three to four million tonnes of rice straw annually into organic fertiliser so as to avoid cultivators' buying and using chemical fertiliser. Tantawi noted that peasants were already trained to use piles of rice straw, to which another composting material known as EN had been added, because in a short time these piles would turn into natural fertilisers. In addition, the campaign recommended farmers to use the rice straw as fodder for cattle, especially given that the price of one tonne of fodder can reach LE2,500, he added. Another recommendation was using rice straw in the cultivation of mushrooms, which have several health benefits. It can also be used in the cultivation of some vegetables. However, Nader Nour Eddin, a professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University believes that burning rice straw on green surfaces kills useful insects and microbes that contribute to the soil's fertility and doubts the fertiliser value of the ash resulting from burning rice straw. He observes that the solution to the problem lies in not completely resorting to any burning processes. Professor Nour Edin also pointed out that the whole world is directed towards increasing what is called the 'green economy' based on environmentally friendly industries as well as recycling water used in agriculture and sewage water to obtain a pollution free environment. An allied suggestion comes from Shafik Abdel-Aal, professor of land, water and environment protection at Cairo University, who stresses the need to spread out rice straw without burning it on agricultural ground, which will beneficially raise the soil's fertility.
