وزير الزراعة: تناقص نصيب الفرد من الأراضى الزراعية إلى 2 قيراط

Mr. Al-Qasir, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, confirmed that the agricultural sector in the Egyptian state has witnessed a renaissance and unprecedented support from the political leadership during the past ten years, given the vital role that the sector plays as a basic pillar of the national economy, in addition to being considered one of the priority sectors within the structural reform phase. Due to its rapid growth rates.

He added that this interest is considered a fundamental pillar of the national economy, as its contribution to the gross domestic product amounts to more than 15%. Agriculture is also the main source of income and employment, as it absorbs more than 25% of the workforce, in addition to its tangible contribution to maximizing the cash reserve of foreign currencies. By increasing the proportion of fresh and manufactured agricultural exports, and providing the raw materials needed for many national industries, which contributes to reducing the import gap, in addition to its responsibility for providing safe, healthy and sustainable food, as a large percentage of the population lives in the countryside and rural areas and depends on agriculture and related activities. It is their main source of income, making this sector a tangible role in achieving sustainable development.

According to financial indicators, it is considered one of the best sectors that achieved positive growth rates despite all these circumstances. In addition, this sector has proven its ability to withstand as one of the flexible sectors during the Corona pandemic, and everyone may have followed this at a time when many major countries were unable to provide food for their people.

Despite the great progress this sector has achieved, this sector faces many challenges, the most important of which is the limited land available for agriculture and the decrease in its per capita share, which has currently reached 2 carats per capita compared to an acre per capita in previous periods of time as a result of the decrease in the old agricultural area as a result of land encroachments. agricultural development, expansion of urban estates, and public benefit projects, as well as the limited water necessary for expansion of agricultural land, as the Egyptian state is considered one of the countries that suffer from a low per capita share of water, which places it among the countries that suffer from water poverty, and spatial fragmentation is considered a major obstacle to implementing Many agricultural policies, in addition to the fact that the agricultural sector is one of the sectors that may be most affected by the negative effects of climate change on agricultural productivity, water consumption rates, and increased land salinity. The Egyptian state is working to take many measures to mitigate these risks, and the steady population increase is deepening the The severity of the effects of all these challenges, which requires all of us, state institutions, civil society and the private sector, to think about measures and procedures to confront this, which is a shared responsibility for all of us.

He added that the crushing economic crises that the world is experiencing are caused by global crises and challenges, starting with the Corona crisis and passing through the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, in addition to the current crises in the region, all of which are challenges and crises that have greatly affected the economies of countries and left painful conditions that led to severe confusion in the markets for basic food commodities as a result. The impact on supply chains with the rise in energy prices, production requirements, and main goods and products, and the rise in shipping, freight, and insurance prices, with the impact on countries’ foreign currency reserves.