Agriculture
From The Report: Egypt 2016
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Characterised by the predominance of smallholders, Egypt’s agriculture sector is currently witnessing greater investor interest, including capital injections for large-scale projects and a nationwide emphasis on land reclamation for agricultural development. Constraints on Egypt’s agriculture sector over 2015 include evolving subsidy reforms (beginning in July 2014), which has meant a rise in fertiliser prices of between 33% and 50%, along with the impact on distribution due to the higher cost of natural gas, leaving domestic production of fertiliser unprofitable. Inconsistent Customs procedures add to inefficiencies and delays. Insecurity, though improving, has also added to delays. However, high-quality exports are expected to lead the way. The agriculture export sector has come out healthy following the political unrest beginning in January 2011 and is still standing on its feet. It remains well positioned within the wider Egyptian economy as a sector that commands a competitive advantage and significant future potential.

This chapter contains an interview with Alaa Diab, CEO, Agriculture Group – PICO; and Member of the Board, Agriculture Export Council.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Improving productivity: The sector targets increasing agricultural sustainability and effectiveness while improving value addition
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Characterised by the predominance of smallholders, Egypt’s agriculture sector is currently witnessing greater investor interest, including capital injections for large-scale projects and a nationwide emphasis on land reclamation for agricultural development. With small-scale farming accounting for around 90% of the country’s active farmers, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and industrial-scale farming comprising just 5-7% of production, some within the sector have…

Interview

Seeds of growth: OBG talks to Alaa Diab, CEO, Agriculture Group – PICO; and Member of the Board, Agriculture Export Council
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Interview:Alaa Diab Given Egypt’s growing population, what can be done in the domestic agriculture sector to reduce imports of staples and bring down retail prices? ALAA DIAB: The president and top government officials are giving close attention to expanding agricultural expansion, particularly through the addition of newly reclaimed land. Indeed, the president recently met with various companies active in the food sector to better understand the challenges they face, encouraging them to…

Analysis

Rethinking water: The government is implementing projects to boost irrigation efficiency and expand agricultural space
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When it comes to restraints on growth in Egypt’s agriculture sector, those perhaps of the greatest importance are the challenges of irrigation and land reclamation. As such, the Egyptian governments has for decades emphasised improvements to irrigation. Data available up to 2012 shows that 3.65m ha were equipped for irrigation, with an annual growth rate for crop production value per ha of 0.79% for 2007-12 period. Total agricultural production in that same period saw a growth rate of 1.39% in…