Agriculture


 * __ Agriculture in Egypt  __**

//__ Agriculture and the Egyptian economy __// (Mark Nassar)

Because Egypt has warm weather and lots of water they are able to produce lots of crops each year. The main crops that are produced every year are beans, sugar cane, sugar beets, corn, wheat, cotton and rice. New techniques however are enabling them to produce fruits, flower and vegetables for export. Most farms in Egypt are 1 acre large and are mostly situated in a canal along the Nile river. Some farmers also own chickens, cows and water buffalos.

In 2006 land filled with wheat surpassed 1,600 km². They produced 8,000,000 metric tons of wheat. Farmers receive 211 $ per ton compared to 340 $ per ton for import for the United States, which is Egypt’s primary wheat and corn supplier. Egypt is the US’s biggest market for corn and wheat, producing 1,000,000,000 $ per year, 46 % of Egypt’s needs from imported goods. Other countries of imported wheat are, Canada, Syria, France, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Australia. By 2017 Egypt is planning on increasing land with planted wheat from 1,600 km² to 12,000 km². This will reduce the gap between supply and demand.

(thousand metric tons and fiscal years) ** || [] In Egypt the “Western Desert” holds 2/3’s of the countries land. It is a huge plateau that’s marked by several depressions. One of them is the Fayoum which was connected to the Nile thousands of years ago. Now it is a significant irrigated farming area. Almost all Egyptian agriculture is situated in 25,000 km² of the Niles Valley and the Delta. Recently many desert land are being developed for farming, on the other hand however many fertile lands are being destroyed by corrosion and urbanization. Bigger and more modern farm are being built in the desert and this will help Egypt produce more crops thus helping the economy. The major projects that will help Egypt increase its production of crops by 2017 are listed below. //__ Projects __// (Hana el Saddat)
 * ** Egypt's Production, Imports and Total Consumption of Wheat and Corn (Maize)
 * Item [|[9]]  ||   2002   ||   2003   ||   2004   ||   2005   ||   2006   ||   2007   ||   2008   ||
 * ** Wheat **  ||||||||||||||     ||
 * Production  ||   6,130   ||   6,300   ||   6,443   ||   7,177   ||   8184   ||   8,200   ||     ||
 * Imports  ||   6,944   ||   6,327   ||   7,295   ||   8,150   ||   7,700   ||   7,000   ||     ||
 * Imports from US  ||   3,547   ||   860   ||   3,985   ||   1,765   ||   1,181   ||   1,300   ||     ||
 * Total Consumption  ||   12,750   ||   12,800   ||   13,300   ||   14,200   ||   14,800   ||   15,600   ||     ||
 * ** Corn **  ||||||||||||||     ||
 * Production  ||   6,160   ||   6,000   ||   5,740   ||   5,840   ||   5,860   ||   5,870   ||     ||
 * Imports  ||   4,905   ||   4,848   ||   3,743   ||   5,398   ||   4,300   ||   4,800   ||     ||
 * Imports from US  ||   4,283   ||   2,904   ||   3,120   ||   3,738   ||   3,927   ||   4,200   ||     ||
 * Total Consumption  ||   11,200   ||   10,900   ||   9,200   ||   11,300   ||   10,300   ||   10,600   ||     ||

// Toshka //   Designed to create a new delta south of the western desert.   It will add 540,000 feddans   The water used for irrigation will be provided from lake Nasser   The estimated cost of the projects is EGP5.5 billion

//Al-Salam// //Canal//   It is a ten-year project   Will add 620,000 feddans   380 wells are made   The estimated cost already placed in the project is EGP5.7 billion.   The canal extends 262 kilometers   The project is expected to provide 20,000 jobs opportunities.   Reservoir created under the Suez Canal to carry nile water to Sinai to serve 400,000 feddans.   Crops are grown according to the scientific method of selecting crops.   Main crops: potatoes, medical herbs, fruits and grains.

//East Uwaiynat//   Project is in the southwest of the Western Desert.   The total area is 255,000 feddans.   Investmets places into the project are about EGP3.5 billion.

// The New Village Program: //   Aim is to set up 400 new villages in the dessert.   Goal: to fix up 1 million feddans.   It is expected that the project will create 420,000 work opportunities.

//__Bibliography__//

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