The Egyptian state is witnessing an unprecedented strategic shift in the food security file, specifically in the wheat production sector, which represents a backbone National food securityFor the country. This boom is driven by an integrated vision adopted by the political leadershipEgyptian government To reduce the import gap and achieve self-reliance through a package of incentive policies for farmers, developing water infrastructure, and expanding the area of cultivation to secure the needs of millions of citizens for strategic goods in light of global economic and climate challenges.
Official efforts were not limited to horizontal expansion to increase cultivated areas, but rather focused mainly on “vertical expansion” by employing scientific research and technological innovation to raise the productivity of each acre.
This integrated system, which directly links farms to production and manufacturing markets and guarantees a rewarding economic return, has been reflected in achieving unprecedented record indicators at the level of local production and government supply rates during the current season.
The state focused extensively on increasing productivity and activating the contract farming system
In this context, Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, stressed that the state has focused extensively on increasing productivity and activating the contract farming system as an essential tool to protect farmers from market fluctuations. A guarantee price was set for the crop before starting the cultivation process to connect farmers directly to factories and companies without intermediaries, in parallel with providing approved seeds and continuous technical support through extension and research convoys.
An unprecedented boom in wheat production
The Minister explained that these policies were directly reflected in achieving an unprecedented boom in wheat production. Domestic production increased during the current year to exceed 10 million tons, an increase of 6.5% over the previous year, which contributed strongly to reducing imports to about 12.5 million tons compared to 13.2 million tons previously.
He pointed out that the government supply system recorded its highest historical rates, as it approached achieving the target of 5 million tons by the end of the season, from a cultivated area of 3.76 million acres, a record increase of up to 600 thousand acres compared to the last season.
In terms of productivity rates, Farouk continued that the productivity of one acre has witnessed a noticeable improvement. The general average reached between 18 and 20 ardabs, while productivity in farms that relied on advanced agricultural technologies and methods and good practices jumped to 28 ardab per acre, making Egypt occupy an advanced position globally in wheat production efficiency.
The minister explained that this boom is due to the announcement of a remunerative supply price for the crop, under the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, amounting to 2,500 pounds per ardeb as a strong incentive for farmers, in addition to the development and dissemination of high-yielding varieties that are tolerant of harsh climatic conditions thanks to the research programs led by the Agricultural Research Center, which resulted in the development of about 60 new varieties and hybrids during the last three years for strategic crops such as wheat, corn, rice, and oil crops. And feed.
The Minister of Agriculture reviewed the most prominent newly bred wheat varieties, most notably the “Misr 3” and “Misr 4” varieties, which are characterized by high productivity, the “Giza 171” variety, which is resistant to rust diseases, in addition to the “Sakha 95 and 96” varieties that save water, and the “Sads 14 and 15” varieties, which are characterized by early maturity.
He also pointed to durum wheat varieties, such as “Beni Suef 5 and 7” and “Sohag 5 and 6,” which are well suited to the pasta industry and are tolerant to difficult environmental conditions.
Farouk concluded his statements by referring to the efforts made in the field of rationalizing water use, stressing the application of modern and rationalized irrigation practices on an area of more than 2.8 million acres, which included techniques of cultivation on terraces, laser leveling, and subsoil plowing, which are mechanisms that alone contributed to increasing productivity by about 20%.
These steps were integrated with the rehabilitation of about 750,000 acres, and the modernization of the field irrigation system in another 257,000 acres, ensuring the sustainability of water resources and achieving the maximum possible benefit from them.
