Egypt imports 60 percent of its food, said Egypt's Minister of Irrigation, Hussein al-Atfy. He said this requires an increase of national projects and reclamation of the desert in Sinai and Toshka regions to increase food production. Al-Atfy said that there are 430,000 acres of land ready to be farmed. Of those, 100,000 acres are in Sinai and will be allocated for resettlement programs, and priority will be given to Sinai's Bedouins. The other 330,000 acres will be farmed with well water close to Abou Simble. Al-Atfy also said these lands will be allocated for young graduates, and the priority will be for Nubians. This is within the framework of the government's program to reclaim 150,000 acres of land annually.
