Egyptian agriculture minister adviser Mohamed Fahim said Egypt turned a barren desert into green agricultural land thousands of years ago as it managed to grow wheat in the East Owainat region.
And he added in a telephone interview with Al-Nahar’s Aher al-Nahar program on Sunday evening: “This land is not just green and a painted picture. This is good, and millions of tons of crops in the McNish area yield one kilogram of yield.”
He noted that the state has wise plans in the projects it is implementing, and that every acre reclaimed and cultivated is the merit of future generations.
He pointed out that the state thinks systematically and that all investments are based on science, citing the establishment of a potato plant in this region as a fresh product that will cost a lot if transported long distances from this region.
He emphasized that agricultural industrialization contributes to the achievement of commodity stability in front of consumers, and is considered an added value that the Egyptian state is fond of, noting that in recent years no one dared to reclaim the land, but the political leadership developed a wise plan for this matter.
He noted that the state sends a signal to investors at home and abroad that there are already projects on the ground that are available for investment.
Earlier Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi witnessed the opening of the wheat harvest season and the opening of a potato plant in East Owainat, New Valley Governorate.
A spokesman for the Egyptian president released a series of photographs showing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inspecting the wheat harvest season of the East Al Awainat Project, the second largest agricultural project in Egyptian history.
The government is implementing the Sharq Al Awainat project, which is the second largest agricultural development project implemented in the south of the valley in southwest Egypt (after the Toshka project) from the Western Desert between 2200-23.3 N and 27.55 longitude. 29.3 E on an area of 16,000 km2, 365 km south of the Dakhla Oasis in New Valley Governorate, 500 km from Lake Nasser; Where the soil is rich and free of pollutants, which makes it ideal, and its area is 528 thousand acres divided into plots, half of which is distributed to agricultural companies that produce various crops estimated at 3 million tons annually.
The project aims to add about 230,000 acres of agricultural land, which is completely irrigated from the waters of an underground reservoir in the region. The project applies a clean farming method to ensure that agricultural products are exported abroad without pollutants. The number of companies allocated for land in the region is 16, all of them have begun to be implemented.
The most important crops of the project
The most important crops grown in the region are “wheat – barley – vegetables – potatoes – peanuts – fodder crops – melon – garlic”, as well as medicinal plants (rapeseed – cumin – mint).
As well as horticultural crops (mangoes – guava – oranges – lemons, palms – figs) and 6 million seedlings of windbreak trees were provided in order to install a fence to prevent sand intrusion.
Fibrous crops such as cotton, fodder crops (alfalfa, broad beans, sorghum, Sudanese hashish), cereals (wheat and sorghum), legumes (lentils and soybeans), oilseeds (peanuts and sesame), vegetables and medicinal crops . plants (hibiscus – cumin – anise – licorice – marjoram), horticultural crops (dry and semi-dry dates, dried figs, pomegranates and citrus fruits).
The investment companies in East Al Awainat are targeting agriculture and animal husbandry, and are also contributing to the production of large quantities of meat for the local market. in the amount of 120 million pounds.
livestock projects
The Ministry of Agriculture has been keen to promote animal husbandry in the New Valley, especially in the East Al Awainat region as it is an area free from environmental pollution and is one of the best areas for breeding and improving breeds. Therefore, the Horticultural Services Department of the Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the Australian side, established a livestock farm with a capacity of 5000 heads attached to it, 3 feed production enterprises, Australian mixed calves were imported, and fattening heads were also imported. from Germany, except for the old livestock station located in the area with the herd. From the cows, the Friesian mix, the herd of sheep, the herd of camels.
Maj. Gen. Ehab Saber, head of the Department of Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the ministry is playing an important role in implementing major development projects in the East Al Awaynat region. As production sector farms in the region, which are located on an area of 37,000 feddans, in addition to livestock production farms, there are open crops: corn and palm trees.
He stressed the importance of improving performance and efficiency to increase productivity, with the need to use modern systems and apply scientific research related to increasing productivity and improving breeds.
Adding 500 thousand feddans to agricultural area
Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning, said the plan for 2022/2023 aims to increase farmland by about half a million acres through horizontal expansion projects, especially Egypt’s Future and New Delta. the Dabaa Axis project on the northwest coast, the Toshka development project south of the New Valley, and the East Owainat project in southwestern Western Sahara.
She added that the main goal is to increase the self-sufficiency of Egyptian agriculture for food security. Therefore, the plan for 2022/2023 aims to monitor and track changes in the yields of major crops, as well as track the pace of improvement to the extent of its self-sufficiency. , according to the tasks of the Ministry of Agriculture, expressed in numbers, it is supposed to increase self-sufficiency in wheat from 45% in 2020 to 65% by 2025, yellow corn from 24% to 32% over the same period, local beans from 30% to about 80% , lentils from 12% to 16%, oilseeds from 3% to 10%, red meat from 57% to 65%, and from fish from 82% to 85%.
The most important services in the project
Water research has proven the existence of a huge underground reservoir that can be operated within safety limits for 100 years. Salinity ranges from 200-700 ppm, and is therefore between excellent and very good for irrigation. Several land surveys have also been carried out on an area of 3.30 million acres. These studies validate the 1.1 million acre area considered to be one of the best arable land.
The state has set up a 200-acre solar energy farm to test and evaluate renewable energy in the East Al Owainat region.
Most of the soil is located within sandy and loamy lands, and it is considered one of the best lands suitable for cultivation. In this area, a developed irrigation system of various types (sprinkling – drip irrigation) is used, by digging wells to use groundwater reserves.
The state provided many services in the region. Where a local unit has been established in East Al Awainat, located in Al Ain village and includes the following services: “medical station, police station, agricultural block, veterinary station, 2 gas stations and warehouse, bakery, TV reception, a development and agricultural credit bank, a youth center, a mosque, a gas station.” seed testing station.
Source: Al-Shoruk