Do you remember from couple of months ago when the minister of agriculture Amin Abaza and Mr. Gamal Mubarak of NDP told us over and over that it was impossible and it was uneconomical to seek wheat sufficiency like other countries in the world !!??
Do you remember that !!?? Because if you do , then you must know that this week on Tuesday Amin Abaza promised President Mubarak that Egypt will reach to 70% wheat self sufficiency in 2017 , yes 2017 and it is documented officially in the media and the presidential records !! Of course Abaza said before that we could reach 70% self sufficiency after lots and lots of criticism.
This is the third minister of agriculture that promises Mubarak we will try to achieve self sufficiency , of course we should not forget that we had only 3 ministers of agriculture in the 29 years of Mubarak’s rule !!??
I wonder if President Mubarak asked the minister of agriculture and the chairman of the agricultural research center about the fate of project No.30061800 , already Dr. Sakina Fouad from last month revealed that the intelligence was interested in knowing what exactly happened and it was enough to know that Dr. Zeinab El-Deeb came back from Paris to testify in front of the general attorney.
By the way I fear that our wheat cause has lost a very important forum with the loss of the Dostor newspaper , Sakina Fouad used to write there and before kicking Ibrahim Eissa of the paper he founded she used to write about the wheat issue keeping us updated with her campaign. Nevertheless I will continue her work in my blog here. Hopefully insh Allah we will restore Dostor back , Fouad will continue her campaign to restore our wheat back.
It's obvious that this is just a public relations exercise.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have seen the videos you've posted of Dr Sakina, and I'm still sceptical.
Show me one country which has managed to grow huge amounts of wheat in the desert...
Whether successive Ministers say it or not, it just does not look plausible.
It doesn't necessarily have to be the desert or complete reliance on desert amelioration. The coastal regions at the north receive enough annual rainfall to sustain agricultural projects instead the Government chose to invest into summer resorts for the rich. Almost all land reclaimed from minefields(WW2) were made into fancy chalets and summer houses, they could have made better projects either agricultural or industrial to pull people from the densely populated delta into the west coast.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, the soil is not as fertile as the Nile valley or delta but it's good enough for several crops including hard grain wheat which doesn't require as much irrigation. The terrain is no much different from the coastal parts of Libya-not including Jabel el Akder- which is very fertile due to high altitude and enough rainfall all year round but Libya has been able to grow wheat, barley and and fruit produce along that coast which normally gets rainfall during the late months of Autumn to early spring and stays dry during summer requiring irrigation from underground wells.
A coastal region extending from Saloum to Rafah can very well grow enough wheat and other grains like Barley for the country, it doesn't always have to be wheat.. barley needs less water and makes good bread which takes us to another point. The Egyptians always regard bread which is not chiefly made out of wheat, e.g mixed with other grain or soy flour- they regard it as inferior and suitable only for animal consumption...which is very stupid. In fact, the country could provide enough subsidised bread without the need of wheat imports if the mixture is made out of other grains like barley, corn, soy and even potatoes where you can use its starch to add density and rich supplements to the bread loaf- especially when you're mainly using low grade wheat. So people need to get educated that wheat-only bread is not the only edible type and other variations are just as good if not better.
They are several solutions if tthe government really wants to become independent from international wheat markets. For starters, they can force Britain and Germany into clearing out their shit minefields in the west- take them to international court if you must and stop building resorts on potentially arable land, get some geologists to research and identify underground water in north Sinai, provide proper housing and agricultural-based communities for the Bedouin tribes instead of pushing them into growing pot.
Even if the wehat production in cultivated land isn't sufficient, you can always grow pulses and corn freeing the rich delta and south from growing such crops and substituting with more wheat fields
Our country is rich on resources..even the desert can be cultivated, maybe not to produce huge quantities but it can help.. go to Google earth or maps and check the difference between Sinai desert in the north and right on the other side in the Naqib desert of Palestine where there are many plantations turning the desert green with virtually no rainfall, relying mostly on wells.. perhaps most are greenhouses producing vegetables and fruit but again if you cultivate arid land for vegetables, you can free the good land for more wheat
Why can't the Egyptians do what the Israelis did with the Negev desert?
ReplyDeleteThe technology, land and manpower is available to Egyptians, all they need is the will.
The Canadian.
@anonymous #1 why not to give a try , already I urge you to read anonymous#2 comment
ReplyDelete@anonymous #2 scientists and experts have spoken rapidly about this but the government does not want to listen
@The Canadian , we want to do it but we have to get the approval of the State :( Open market system indeed !!
Egypt's population is 80 million and growing...
ReplyDeleteWhat is the exact grain demand?
How much rainfall does the Northern coast receive?
Enough?
Enough for what?
Wheat which is a very water intensive crop - even the variety you mentioned...
And Libya is a bad example - Libya does not rely on limited seasonal rainfall but grows its grain from non-renewable groundwater which is finite...
And even Libya has halted that in favour of leasing land in the Ukraine to meet its grain demand...
Great point about barley and non-wheat grains. This is the way forward.
I don't think it's possible to compare Israel with any country in the world - for one thing they use up water resources that are not wholly theirs and for another their technology and expertise is not available to other countries and they are treated differently by the US.
@ Anon 10/30/2010 05:09:00 PM
ReplyDelete'I don't think it's possible to compare Israel with any country in the world - for one thing they use up water resources that are not wholly theirs and for another their technology and expertise is not available to other countries and they are treated differently by the US'.
There are several Arab agricultural consulting companies in operation throughout Saudi Arabia and Arab countries that provide desert cultivation and development technology and support, example (http://www.astra-group.net/farm_astra.asp).
It seems your logic is clouded by your biased mindset when you read anything positive about Israel, I suggest you can learn better if you closely observe and analyze your friends and foes equally.
The Canadian.
Arab agricultural consulting companies achieving what exactly..???
ReplyDeleteSaudi Arabia, like Libya is investing in its food security beyond its borders in a country that has both fertile land and abundant water resources...
Show me the numbers and I'll be convinced however there has been 'no' large-scale, sustainable cultivation of wheat in deserts.