Bahaa El-Ghanam, the CEO of Egypt’s Future Device for Sustainable Development, has announced that Russia will play a crucial role in a national project highly prioritized by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
This project is designed to achieve self-sufficiency in food production and export surpluses, focusing on cultivating high-quality products at prices affordable to Egyptian citizens.
This initiative aims to reduce imports, conserve foreign currency, and further sustainable development goals.
El-Ghanam, in statements to RT, highlighted the ambitious plans to implement numerous agricultural reclamation projects starting from the New Delta region, through Minya, Beni Suef, Fayoum, reaching up to Aswan, Dakhla, and Al-Owainat, aiming to cultivate 4.5 million acres by 2027.
He noted a significant increase in the reclaimed area from 30,000 acres in 2018 to 600,000 acres in 2023, with a target of 800,000 acres in 2024.
The collaboration extends to China and Russia, focusing on improving seeds and seedlings necessary for agriculture.
This includes establishing the largest factory for pesticides and nutrients and the largest facility for producing soybeans and seeds resistant to salinity and drought.
El-Ghanam also mentioned a partnership with the Russian company Schenkov to produce seedlings and seeds.
The Dakhla-Al-Owainat project serves as a model for utilizing the state’s vast desert resources suitable for reclamation, coordinated with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
The first phase covered 15,000 acres, and preparations are underway for a second phase of an additional 200,000 acres.
In Southern Egypt, the Minya-Beni Suef project, initiated to cultivate 62,000 acres, is part of efforts to develop the region.
The Lahun project is also notable, utilizing 12,000 acres to grow vegetables and fruits like cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, mangos, and bananas using Spanish and Egyptian technology.
Additionally, the Sadat project started in 2023, aims to reclaim 26,000 more acres to maximize the utilization of available land for agriculture.
By 2024, 13,000 acres will be cultivated, with infrastructure work ongoing for another 13,000 acres, expected to be completed by July, bringing the total area reclaimed in Sadat City to 31,000 acres.
El-Ghanam emphasized that the Future Device for Sustainable Development is also executing the “Kufra” project on the Libyan border southwest of the Siwa Oasis, covering 600,000 acres, showcasing Egypt’s expansive efforts in sustainable agriculture development.
