President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Saturday 22/12/2018 attended the inauguration of a number of agricultural development projects in Tenth of Ramadan.
Attending also were Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Minister of Defense Mohamed Zaki, Minister of Agriculture Ezzeddin Abu Steit and Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr along with other senior officials.
Director General of the National Service Projects Organization (NSPO) Mostafa Amin said the agricultural production projects are one of the most important fields of food security for the Egyptian people.
Upon directives from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the National Company for Protected Agriculture, an offshoot of the NSPO, has established 7,100 greenhouses in various areas in the 10th of Ramadan city, Amin added.
Amin underscored the importance of transformation into protected agriculture in greenhouses for specific sorts of crops, asserting that it helps rationalize the use of freshwater resources available in Egypt.
In this regard, he said freshwater resources in the country are estimated at 77 billion cubic meters per year, of which the River Nile water constitutes 72 percent, while the recycled agricultural wastewater represents some 16 percent.
Amin noted that an amount of 62.7 billion cubic meters of water, around 81.3 percent of freshwater resources, is used annually in agriculture, while domestic purposes consume about 11 billion cubic meters.
The NSPO director general added that the high-tech greenhouses rationalize the use of irrigation water by about 80 percent, while increasing production by four times.
Amin said there is an increase in the supply of some sorts of vegetables, noting that the Egyptian citizen’s annual share of vegetables is currently estimated at 95 kilograms.
This amount is little, he said, attributing this to a decline in the gross domestic product in line with the continued population growth.
Meanwhile, Amin said the National Company for Protected Agriculture is currently setting up 7,100 greenhouses, adding that this phase is set to produce about 1.5 million tons of some kinds of vegetables per year.
This phase has provided more than 75,000 direct job opportunities, he added.
Chairman of the National Company for Protected Agriculture Mohamed Abdel Hai said the national project to cultivate 100,000 feddans of protected agriculture was launched 10 months ago in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
Abdel Hai noted that the first phase of the project, inaugurated today, has been carried out on an area of 34,000 feddans distributed over five sites.
The first phase provides about 75,000 job opportunities for the youth, he added.
Director General of Spain’s Roviba company Jose Antonio said Madrid has cemented relations with Cairo over the past four years and provided it with the necessary advanced technology.
Spain has established 400 greenhouses in Egypt, he said, noting that the best Spanish seeds, pesticides and fertilizers have been offered to Cairo.
Meanwhile, Antonio asserted that Egypt is one of the key agricultural producers across the world.
Meanwhile, Manager of Spain’s Meridian company José Jiménez said the company is cooperating with the Egyptian government in many fields, including the production of high-quality seeds, the establishment of seeds production lines in Egypt and the formation of an Egyptian scientific team in cooperation with Spanish teams to produce domestic seeds.
He added that bilateral cooperation also includes enhancing agricultural production in the coming 10 years to adapt to climate change, in addition to producing and exporting Egyptian seeds to the countries of Africa and the Middle East.
The director general of a Chinese machinery company said the company has several successful projects in Egypt, such as petroleum industries and those of mechanical and electrical equipment.
In May 2017, the company signed a deal with Cairo to establish 2,950 greenhouses, taking into consideration the Egyptian people’s interests.
The official noted that his company exerts more efforts to help develop the future of Egypt, which he described as a friendly nation to China.
Source: State Information Service