Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (Egypt) explained

Agency Name:	Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation
Nativename:	وزارة الزراعة وإستصلاح الأراضي
Jurisdiction:	Government of Egypt
Headquarters:	New Administrative Capital, Cairo Governorate
Chief1 Name:	El-Said Marzouq El-Qosair (as of the 22nd of December 2019)
Chief1 Position:	Minister
Child1 Agency:	Desert Research Center (DRC)
Child2 Agency:	Central Administration of Plant Quarantine^[1]

The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt is a ministerial body in charge of agriculture and land reclamation in Egypt.

History

The Ministry of Agriculture was established on 20 November 1913. In 1996, it was renamed Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. One of its goals is to address sustainability in agriculture such as better ways to do agricultural irrigation.^{[2] [3]}

In 2016, an agency from Switzerland was put in charge of inspecting Egypt's imported wheat. Egypt imports the most wheat of any country^{[4] [5]} and around 40% of the average Egyptians' income is spent on food.^[6]

Farmland

As of 2000, small farms (between 5 and 6 feddans) accounted for most (49.61%) of the agricultural land ownership in Egypt. 34.72% of farm holdings were of 1 feddan or less.^[7] The hope is that with desalination plants, new wells and better infrastructure farmers will be able to grow more wheat.

In April 2018 Egypt purchased wheat from local farmers but not at a price farmers found sustainable.^[8]

Land reclamation

A land reclamation project began in 2015, near the town of Farafra.^[9] Large government and private investment and initiatives in farming the Sahara Desert have sometimes ended with little to show.^[10]

In June 2017, it was announced 1.7 million feddans had been reclaimed and according to the Egyptian Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail, this work would continue. It was President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who, in May 2017, asked for the armed services to begin reclaiming land by demolishing illegally erected structures on land not owned by builders or squatters.^[11]

Ministers

• Ayman Farid Abu-Hadid - from July 2013^[12]
• Adel Tawfik al-Sayed al-Beltagy^[13]
• Mahmoud Salah Eddin Hilal^[14]
• Essam Fayed - from September 2015^[15]
• Abdul Moneim El-Banna - from February 2017^[16]
• El-Said Marzouq El-Qosair - from December 2019^[17]

See also

• Cabinet of Egypt
• List of ministers of agriculture and land reclamation of Egypt
• Egyptian land reform
• New Valley Project

External links

• Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Official website
• Egyptian International Center of the Agriculture (EICA)
• Ministry of Agricultural Foreign Agricultural Relations
• International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
• Ministry of Agricultural and Land Reclamation on Facebook
• Egypt's Cabinet Database

Notes and References

1. Web site: IPPC. International Plant Protection Convention.
2. Web site: The evolution of the structure of the Ministry of Agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. 20 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131021044923/http://www.agr-egypt.gov.eg/En_MinHistory.aspx. 21 October 2013. dead.
3. Web site: Ministry News. Ministry of Ag official site. 2011-03-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20191223151328/http://www.agr-egypt.gov.eg/. 2019-12-23. dead.
4. News: Egypt names new head of ag quarantine agency. 9 January 2017. world grain. Demaree. Holly.
5. News: Schroeder. Eric. Egypt names new ag minister. World-Grain. February 15, 2017.
6. Web site: Peter. Schwartzstein. Farming the Sahara. Take Part.
7. Book: Michel Petit. Etienne Montaigne. Fatima El Hadad-Gauthier. Sustainable Agricultural Development: Challenges and Approaches in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries. 15 May 2015. Springer. 978-3-319-17813-4. 28–.
8. News: Egypt buys 190,000 tonnes of locally-produced wheat - ministr. https://web.archive.org/web/20180429155922/https://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFL8N1RW45B?feedType=RSS&feedName=egyptNews. dead. 29 April 2018. 29 April 2018. Reuters. 19 April 2018.
9. News: Sisi inaugurates 1st phase of 1.5 million feddan reclamation project. Mada Masr. 31 December 2015.
10. Web site: Maloy. T.J.. Agribusiness overview: Egypt's agriculture is poised for growth. Marcopolis.net.
11. News: Egypt PM says recovered 1.7 million feddans of agricultural land. Egypt Independent. 6 June 2017.
12. News: Ayman Farid Abu-Hadid, newly appointed minister of agriculture and land reclamation of Egypt's interim cabinet which was formed on July 16, 2013, speaks to media at his office in Cairo. Thomson Reuters Foundation. 17 July 2013.
13. News: Mohamed. Ali. Who Are Egypt's New Ministers?. Atlantic Council. 6 March 2015.
14. News: Kelani. Mahmoud. وزير الزراعة في الإسماعيلية: "أنا خادم للفلاحين وسنتصدى بحزم للتعدي على الأراضي. Journal Constitution. 19 March 2015.
15. News: Egypt's new Cabinet: What changed and what didn't?. 19 September 2015. 19 September 2015. Mada Masr.
16. News: El-Sheikh. Sarah. Parliament approves new cabinet reshuffle of nine ministries. Daily News Egypt. 14 February 2017.
17. Web site: 2019-12-22. ننشر السيرة الذاتية للمحاسب السيد القصير وزير الزراعة الجديد. 2021-02-20. اليوم السابع.