CAIRO - Because he has no place or home to live in, Ahmed Haridi, a farmer in Assiut Governorate, decided to build on his agricultural land instead of cultivating it. Haridi is not the only person to do so; many other farmers and ordinary people have done the same thing. As the revolution swept Cairo's streets, so did many illegal acts. Egyptians began to build on their agricultural land, as well as adding floors to their homes illegally, exploiting the security vacuum during the revolution. "We haven't any place to live in," Haridi says. "I have to build on my land, because my family and I have to live somewhere.” According to Haridi, if the Government had cared for the farmers from the beginning and given them homes, they wouldn't do such a thing. Once farmers build on their land, it's never recovered again, according to experts. "Because of the absence of governmental supervision, the farmers build on their land instead of cultivating it," says Abdel-Ghani el-Guindi, a professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University. According to a UN report, once Egypt's fertile land is lost, it's unlikely to be recovered, especially after the closure of State land reclamation programmes. "We can pay fees to the Government to help it reclaim new land," Haridi suggests. According to Law 53 of 1966, anyone who builds on agricultural land will be fined between LE500 and LE1,000 per feddan, while the illegal structure will be demolished, lawyers explain. The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation gives weight to the UN's report. It shows that, since the outbreak of the January 25 Revolution, 159,000 cases have been filed involving violations of agriculture land. "We were losing something like 10,000-15,000 feddans of agricultural land per year, sometimes less, sometimes more," says Ayman el-Hefnawi, Vice-Chairman of the General Organisation for Physical Planning (GOPP) at the Ministry of Housing. He adds that the rate of illegal construction has increased since the revolution, with encroachments on agricultural land happening in most governorates. In the past year alone, there have been 10,000 encroachments on agricultural land in Fayoum Governorate, according to governmental reports. As for Luxor, there have been 4,201 cases and 5,976 in Assiut, according to a statement from the Land Protection Department in Assiut Governorate. "There were few cases of encroachment before the revolution," said Ahmed el-Tayyeb Gawish, a lawyer. "Since the revolution, there have been many more, pushing up the prices of construction materials," he told The Egyptian Gazette. Around 99 per cent of the population lives on about 5.5 per cent of Egypt's landmass. Last year, Egypt's population stood at 84.5 million, up from 27.8 million in 1960. Much of the population lives near the banks of the Nile River, where arable land is found. People build on the agricultural land because the population keeps on growing and there is no other solution for the poor, according to analysts. Famous scientist Farouq el-Baz has called on people to stop building on agricultural land, warning that, if they continue to do so at the present rate, all the agricultural land will have disappeared by 2085 and bread will cost dollars. He also stresses the importance of African-Egyptian co-operation, describing his corridor development project as the hope for future generations to escape from the narrow, overcrowded Nile Valley. Analysts suggest that the Government might build new homes for people in the desert, affordable for the poor, who, if they buy these homes, can help reclaim the land too. "Now the parliamentary elections have finished, the Ministry of Local Development and the provincial governors are working together to stop illegal construction on agricultural land," Minister of Local Development Mohamed Attia said about three months ago. He admitted the rate of illegal building in Cairo and the governorates has increased since the January 25 Revolution, adding that there have been 110,000 encroachments on agricultural land.
