Efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat
The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Mr. Al-Qusayr, confirms that there is interest at the highest levels of Egyptian government Expansion of the areas cultivated with wheat.
The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture added, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, that the area planted with wheat this year witnessed an increase of more than half a million acres, compared to last year.
Al-Qusair stresses that work is underway to plant additional quantities of wheat in the coming period, within the framework of the Egyptian government’s keenness to work to achieve “self-sufficiency” in this important file in the future.
Global wheat markets witnessed great turmoil in the past few weeks, affected by the “Russian-Ukrainian” war, where wheat prices rose dramatically, with global economies affected, as a result of the non-export of shipments of wheat from Russia and Ukraine, which export more than 25% of what the world imports from Wheat.
Increasing wheat production to 3.5 million feddans
Egyptian government reports indicate an increase in wheat production capacities by nearly 3 times the storage capacities, to suffice the strategic reserve for more than 4 months, and the cultivated areas of wheat have increased by about 124% since 2017, reaching about 3.5 million feddans.
According to an informational report issued by the Information and Decision Support Center in the Council of Ministers, the Egyptian state aims to increase the quantity planted with the wheat crop by 1.5 million feddans during the next three years.
The productivity of an acre of wheat grown in Egypt is about 3 tons, according to the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.
Government studies: 80% of farmers planted wheat in 2021
Government sources point out that recent studies have indicated that nearly 80% of farmers contacted by government agencies planted wheat on part of their lands last year, with the alfalfa crop planted by about 60% of them on part of their lands, 15% for sugar cane, and then 6.3 % for sugar beet.
Egypt’s needs for wheat are currently estimated at about 18 million tons annually, with a local productivity of about 10 million tons of this important strategic crop.
Wheat farming challenges
The sources indicated that the most prominent challenges faced by farmers of wheat and other strategic crops are related to agricultural pests for more than a third of the farmers contacted by government agencies.
The sources indicate that there are directives from the officials of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to intensify agricultural extension campaigns, to help farmers increase the productivity of their crop, as well as to provide any pesticides or requirements that lead to increased productivity and support the quality of the crop.
The sources point out that the problem of pests is summarized in the lack of fertilizers, the increase in the salinity of the land, and the effects of climate change, a problem that the state is also working to confront with multiple mechanisms.
“>
In an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, Egyptian officials and government sources said that the studies were conducted within the framework of presidential directives to encourage farmers to cultivate WheatConsidering that this file is one of the important “food security” sectors for Egyptians.
Efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat
The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Mr. Al-Qusayr, confirms that there is interest at the highest levels of Egyptian government Expansion of the areas cultivated with wheat.
The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture added, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, that the area planted with wheat this year witnessed an increase of more than half a million acres, compared to last year.
Al-Qusair stresses that work is underway to plant additional quantities of wheat in the coming period, within the framework of the Egyptian government’s keenness to work to achieve “self-sufficiency” in this important file in the future.
Global wheat markets witnessed great turmoil in the past few weeks, affected by the “Russian-Ukrainian” war, where wheat prices rose dramatically, with global economies affected, as a result of the non-export of shipments of wheat from Russia and Ukraine, which export more than 25% of what the world imports from Wheat.
Increasing wheat production to 3.5 million feddans
Egyptian government reports indicate an increase in wheat production capacities by nearly 3 times the storage capacities, to suffice the strategic reserve for more than 4 months, and the cultivated areas of wheat have increased by about 124% since 2017, reaching about 3.5 million feddans.
According to an informational report issued by the Information and Decision Support Center in the Council of Ministers, the Egyptian state aims to increase the quantity planted with the wheat crop by 1.5 million feddans during the next three years.
The productivity of an acre of wheat grown in Egypt is about 3 tons, according to the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.
Government studies: 80% of farmers planted wheat in 2021
Government sources point out that recent studies have indicated that nearly 80% of farmers contacted by government agencies planted wheat on part of their lands last year, with the alfalfa crop planted by about 60% of them on part of their lands, 15% for sugar cane, and then 6.3 % for sugar beet.
Egypt’s needs for wheat are currently estimated at about 18 million tons annually, with a local productivity of about 10 million tons of this important strategic crop.
Wheat farming challenges
The sources indicated that the most prominent challenges faced by farmers of wheat and other strategic crops are related to agricultural pests for more than a third of the farmers contacted by government agencies.
The sources indicate that there are directives from the officials of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to intensify agricultural extension campaigns, to help farmers increase the productivity of their crop, as well as to provide any pesticides or requirements that lead to increased productivity and support the quality of the crop.
The sources point out that the problem of pests is summarized in the lack of fertilizers, the increase in the salinity of the land, and the effects of climate change, a problem that the state is also working to confront with multiple mechanisms.