Archive for Agriculture Ministry

Govt project aims to make wheat, corn, oil production self-sufficient

by admin
December 16th, 2012

Prime Minister Hesham Qandil has tasked the agriculture, irrigation, electricity and investment ministries to begin implementing a project the government hopes will reclaim and cultivate a million new acres of farmable land over four years.

The project aims to reach self-sufficient production levels, Agriculture and Land Cultivation Minister Salah Mohamed Abdel Mome told the press Sunday, by building up wheat production by 25 percent, corn production by 15 percent, and oil production from 10 percent to 40 percent. Financing the project should have a low interest rate of 1 or 2 percent, he added.

Momen said the project aims to bridge the production gap by partnering with national institutions, local banks and foreign investors. He added that the government is uniting all service ministries to support the giant project, which should accommodate about 800,000 small farmers and young graduates in five locations: Toshka, Sinai, Wadi al-Natrun, the North Coast and Matrouh.

Momen also said he would meet with Tareq Amer, chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, who agreed to finance the project as a partner with the Agriculture Ministry. The state budget cannot afford to finance the project alone, Momen said.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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1 million feddans of wheat to be cultivated within few days, agriculture ministry says

by admin
December 2nd, 2012

 

Abbas al-Shennawi, head of the services sector at the Agriculture Ministry, said one million feddans, the remaining amount of wheat targeted to be cultivated in Egypt this year, could be planted between 1 and 20 December.

As of Sunday, 2.2 million feddans have been cultivated, Shennawi told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

On Saturday, a wheat supply monitoring group said Egypt has enough strategic wheat reserves to last until May.

Ahmed al-Rakiabi, head of the committee and of the Holding Company for Food Industries, said wheat quantities have not been affected by Egypt’s ongoing political strife. He added that there are plans to increase the supply as a result of current international prices.

Rakiabi added that the domestic wheat harvest season would begin next April, ensuring that the strategic reserve of wheat would last until mid-May.

Agriculture Minister Salah Mohamed Abdel Momen said on Thursday that the ministry drew up to increase productivity and increase Egypt’s wheat self-sufficiency to 59 percent by next year.

Egypt imports more than half of its wheat supplies, and almost a quarter of that amount comes from the US, according to the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies.

According to international reports, grain prices have risen by 12 percent compared to last year, jumping to near 2008 levels, which were the highest ever recorded.

Reports have also said that total food prices have increased 7 percent from last year.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Categories Egypt Economy
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Desert locusts swarm Aswan, ministry declares state of disaster

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November 8th, 2012

The Agriculture Ministry declared a state of disaster in Aswan on Thursday as swarms of desert locusts descend on Lake Nasser, the Egypt-Sudan border and the Eastern Desert.

Border guards sited the approaching locusts and notified ministry authorities in Hurghada, Halayeb, Shalateen, Abu Ramad and Sheikh al-Shazly.

Authorities will survey the reported areas to assess the situation and also survey other parts of the nation as a precautionary measure, the ministry announced.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
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Agriculture Ministry imports meat for Eid

by admin
October 17th, 2012

Egypt has imported 36,000 cattle and 30,000 camels from countries as diverse as Sudan, Brazil, Croatia and Australia in preparation for Eid al-Adha, according to Osama Selim, head of the General Authority for Veterinary Services at the Agriculture Ministry.

Additionally, four committees from the authority have traveled to Sudan and Ethiopia to import live animals for the holiday at the end of the month.

The ministry's production sector head Mahmoud Meslehy said that beef prices have reached LE48 per kilogram and lamb LE55 per kilogram, with live sheep and cows costing LE26 and LE 30 per kilogram, respectively.

Meslehy added that the production sector began Wednesday selling live sheep to the public. Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday celebrating sacrifice, begins late next week.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Categories Egypt Economy
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Report: Shafiq accused of giving electoral bribes

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September 19th, 2012

Police are following up on a complaint accusing former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq of giving electoral bribes, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported Wednesday.

The complaint, filed by Mustafa Ashour, said Shafiq’s campaign bribed nearly 2 million citizens, according to Al-Ahram. The newspaper did not report any details about Ashour’s political affiliations or inclinations.

The complaint said that the 2 million people are the families of 500,000 people who openly built illegally on agricultural land, alleging that Shafiq promised that they would not be penalized in exchange for their votes.

According to the newspaper, Ashour accused Shafiq of saying at a news conference in Gharbiya that if he were elected president, he would not take any legal action against those who have used agricultural land for buildings, but would legalize their construction upon his victory.

The complaint alleged that Shafiq’s statement led to a “hysterical” construction boom, and that the Land Protection Authority at the Agriculture Ministry said a “frightening” amount of agricultural land was lost during the presidential race.

Shafiq was also accused of undermining efforts made by governors, the Agriculture Ministry, the army and police, to curb the encroachment on fertile land.

Shafiq left Egypt a day after the presidential election results were announced in June.

Later, he was referred to criminal court, along with former President Hosni Mubarak’s two sons Alaa and Gamal, on charges of squandering state funds.

Shafiq served as commander of the Air Force and minister of civil aviation before he was appointed by Mubarak as his last prime minister during the 25 January revolution.

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Nubians plan to protest Agriculture Ministry plan to sell land

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July 16th, 2012

Nubian groups in several cities plan to protest outside the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday to call for the cancellation of ministry-announced efforts to sell land near Lake Nasser in Aswan.

Nubians have pressed for authorities to allow them to relocate back to their old lands in the area, which they had been forced to leave during the 1960s to pave the way for the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

But the announcement of the moves by an Agriculture Ministry agency to sell the land has sparked fury in the Nubian community, and groups are planning to demonstrate in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Ismailia and Aswan.

Mounir Bashir, chairman of the Egyptian Nubian Association for Lawyers, said association members have agreed to join other Nubian groups in the demonstration, saying the groups have sensed an intention by ministry officials to dishonor their promises to backtrack on land allocations at the lake and to prioritize the relocation of evacuated citizens.

Bashir accused the ministry of seizing the lands around the lake under the pretense of investments, adding that the ministry, through the announced bids, is seeking to legalize squatter ownerships in the area for former regime investors. 

He urged President Mohamed Morsy to fulfill the state’s previous promises concerning the repatriation of Nubians.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Brotherhood member nominated for agriculture minister

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July 1st, 2012

Mohamed Taha Wahdan, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau and a professor of agriculture at Suez Canal University, has been nominated for the post of agriculture minister in the new cabinet, sources within the Agriculture Ministry said Sunday.

According to ministry sources, Salah al-Sayyed Youssef, the second agriculture minister in former Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s cabinet, who sources say is known for his “Brotherhood leanings,” is another possible nomination. Other nominees include Mohsen Batran, who serves as head of the Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit, and current Agriculture Minister Mohamed Reda Ismail.

In the wake of President Mohamed Morsy’s win, political forces, including the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, have expressed their desire to form a government that represents all political movements. There have been conflicting reports over the past few days concerning who would be nominated for the post of prime minister to succeed Kamal al-Ganzouri, who was appointed in November 2011.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Mubarak, Wali accused of seizing government lands

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June 25th, 2012

 

The Justice Ministry has begun investigating several complaints filed against ousted President Hosni Mubarak and former Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Youssef Wali, who are accused of seizing large areas of land owned by the General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD) and allocating it to the Cooperative Housing Association for Military Pilots (CHAMP), said a judicial source.

Judge Osama al-Saidi has requested evidence regarding this case as well as regarding related allegations against former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who is accused of selling Mubarak’s sons, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, land belonging to the Pilots Association at well below market value.

Lawyer Saad Mohamed Saleh filed a complaint to the public prosecutor, who referred it to Judge Osama al-Saidi to begin investigations.

A number of officials at the Agriculture Ministry and the CHAMP were also accused of involvement in the acquisition of 119 acres of lands belonging to the GAFRD in the Bitter Lake region and of illegally distributing these land plots to military pilots.

A judicial source said that Saidi had begun the investigations and that the necessary legal action will be taken within hours, includingsummoning the lawyer who filed the complaint in order to examine the documents he presented, and finding out whether or not there are any witnesses.

In related news, a judicial source said that a committee of Justice Ministry experts is currently finalizing its report regarding land sold to the Mubarak sons by the CHAMP in light of the complaint submitted by former MP Essam Sultan against Shafiq.

Sources said that members of the investigative committee have examined the land in question and determined its boundaries as they made the reports.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Foot-and-mouth outbreak causes losses of LE200 million

by admin
April 18th, 2012

Official sources within the Agriculture Ministry said Egypt's total losses due to the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, which was first reported on 26 February, have reached LE200 million.

Dr. Suhair Hassan, head of the Central Department for Preventive Medicine, said the total number of infections is currently 78,316. Hassan said 66,418 cases have been cured while 11,898 are suspected to still have the disease.

At this time, 6,544 cattle are being treated for the disease, 5,354 are recovering, and 17,654 animals have died, mostly calves.

The number of animals dying per day has shrunk from thousands to hundreds, Hassan said.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Govt to negotiate import of Sudanese live cattle

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April 9th, 2012

Agriculture Minister Mohamed Reda Ismail has begun negotiations with the Sudanese government on how Egypt can import live Sudanese calves to increase the country’s supply of meat and help lower prices.

The government is planning to import more than 5,000 calves monthly to be sold on local markets at a maximum price of LE25 per kilo, after ensuring the meat satisfies international health standards set by the World Organization of Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Agriculture Ministry said.

An agricultural delegation led by the minister will begin a visit to Sudan on Wednesday to meet a number of Sudanese breeders to negotiate an appropriate purchasing price so that the meat can be sold on the market at LE25 a kilo, a ministry source told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The ministry said imported calves must be no more than 3 years old and weigh no less than 350 kg to have the same quality as the meat imported from Europe.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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