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Egypt's Future Depends on Agriculture and Wisdom

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Egypt's Future Depends on Agriculture and Wisdom EGYPT’S FUTURE DEPENDS ON AGRICULTURE AND WISDOM Lowell N. Lewis “Whoever does not command the means to feed himself can neither feel freedom nor dignity” Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.” 2 Dedication To: My wife, Montserrat Trueta, For her patience and support, her editorial help and her interest in Egypt To: My children, Beth, Brad and Nancy for their personal support and their interest in my interests. To: My friends and colleagues in Egypt whose patience with an American created my fascination for their country. To: My colleagues at the University of California who encouraged me. 3 CONTENTS Preface 10 A Note of Recognition 11 World Opinion Recognizes Agriculture 13 Summary of Text 21 About the Author 328 PART ONE 46 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE IN EGYPT CHAPTER 1 – Agriculture and Horticulture in Ancient Egypt Irrigation and Soil Management Crop and Livestock Production Economics and Wealth Energy, Warfare & Trade Routes CHAPTER 2 –The Period of Muhammad Ali 4 The Founder of Modern Egypt Industrialization and Modernization Muhammad Ali’s Successors The Suez Canal The American Civil War Helped PART TWO 64 EGYPT TODAY Chapter 3--Structure and Economy Constitution, Institutions and Administration International Relations and Defense Job Creation, Paramount Challenge for Egypt Education Natural Resources & Environment Energy Provision Transportation, Communication and the Internet The Economy Egypt and the Millennium Development Goals Chapter 4--The Nile River Nile River Basin Statistics The History of the Nile Conflicts and Treaties Continuing Tensions Solving Problems with Research PART THREE 108 JOINT PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH FOREIGN AID 5 CHAPTER 5 –Egypt Recognizes Food Gap Problem The Status of Agriculture in the second Half of the Century Government Policies Affecting Agriculture and Their Reform Revitalization—US Presidential Mission Early Cooperative Research Programs--USAID Farmer to Farmer Program CHAPTER 6 –Cooperative Programs in the 1980’s—NARP National Agricultural Research Program Accomplishments of Specific Institutes During NARP Official Report & Evaluation of NARP Advances in Egyptian Agriculture Closing the Food Security Gap Criticisms of NARP Research to Improve Efficiency and Productivity in Agriculture is Never Done Future Efforts in Research Should Include CHAPTER 7 –Post NARP Activities Agriculture Led Export Businesses (ALEB) Agricultural Technology Utilization and Transfer (ATUT) Agricultural Policy Reforms Program (APRP) Agribusiness Linkages (AgLink) Agricultural Exports and Rural Income (AERI) Growth Through Globalization (GTG) Agricultural Reform Project (CARE) Center for Business Support (IESC) Egyptian Exporters Association (EEA) 6 PART FOUR 181 RESEARCH IN EGYPT GOALS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS CHAPTER 8 Present Day Agricultural Research in Egypt Institutes in the Agricultural research Center of Egypt Soil and Water Research Cotton Research Crop Production is Basic The Role of Horticulture and Horticulture research institute Animal Agriculture & Animal research institutes Genetic Engineering research Institute Agricultural economics research institute Food Technology research Institute Financial support for Egyptian research Critical emerging issues PART FIVE 244 AGRICULTURE PROVIDES FOOD AND JOBS THROUGH RURAL AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 7 CHAPTER 9 Agriculture’s Role in Economics and Employment Economics Status of Agriculture Rapid Growth yields Employment Growth Required Policy Changes Wage Rates and the Income of the Labor Class Urban-Rural Story CHAPTER 10 A Model for Feasible Growth Rates Importance of Commodity Composition Comparative Advantage in Agricultural Commodities Efficiency of Inputs is Critical to Value Added Achieving the Comparative Advantage Summary—Providing 1,000,000 New Jobs per Year Tables PART SIX 304 HORTICULTURE CROPS ARE MORE VALUABLE THAN OTHER CROPS AND USE LESS WATER PER VOLUME AND VALUE OF PRODUCTION CHAPTER 11 Horticulture, Possible Key to Egypt’s Future 8 Export Market for Horticultural Products Egypt’s Advantages and Challenges How to Maximize Horticulture Opportunities for Growth in the Domestic Market What does the Future Hold? Horticultural Export Industry Association (HEIA) Evidence of Progress in Food Marketing—The Food Council BIBLIOGRAPHY 320 9 Preface The Purpose of this Book is to provide an analysis of present day Egypt that will suggest appropriate pathways to maintain and improve the economy of the country and the quality of life of the people. The present day picture is based on the history and the 20th century chronology of events that have brought the country to its present day position. It is my philosophy that the growth of the country’s economy and the employment of the people will be based on the success of its agriculture. Egypt is the story of people and the management of natural resources through the dimension of time. The value of the analysis given here transcends the boundary of a nation and time. It forms a model/modality for the goal of sustainable development and use of resources which are meaningful globally. The leaders and people of every developing country are attracted by the miracles of technology and its potential to solve all the problems of a society. These miracles are important but no more so than the knowledge of a country's basic resources, its history and its culture. During these years there have been many changes in the economy, structure, scientific basis and international standing of agriculture in Egypt. They serve as examples of what can be done in developing an agricultural economy with severely limited land, arid conditions, and cooperation with the support of western countries including Canada, Germany, France and the United States. The events of this period provide a background for other developing countries and for donor countries and should be a foundation for the continued development of Egypt and the other MENA countries. This is a report of the many changes and how they were accomplished. It is an analysis of the present economic and population challenges facing Egypt and it suggests future 10 directions essential to Egypt’s future. It concludes that Agriculture is essential to Egypt’s well being. A Note of Recognition There are many key people who are a part of the story. One who lived, worked and contributed continuously is Yousef Wali. After obtaining a doctorate at the University of Arizona in, he became a professor at Ayn Shams University and built a career as an expert in horticulture. In the early 1970’s he became a consultant to the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1982 he became the Minister of Agriculture where he served until his retirement in 2004. Throughout his career, Dr. Wali worked to improve food production, increase Egypt’s independence through a sustainable food supply, and develop a scientific base for agriculture. The motto he often quoted, “He who does not own his food, does not own his freedom” underlines his basic efforts and beliefs. His diligent work with every component of science, agriculture and business throughout the world helped put Egypt in a better economic and food supply position. This meant cooperation with numerous aid agencies of the USA, Canada, Germany, France, and the European Union and with Israel, and the Arab League. It meant debating the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It meant convincing most of his own colleagues, the Parliament and the other Ministers of the Egyptian Government of policy changes. He knew what needed to be done and he had a good sense of what could be done. The result was a constant debate and compromise to bring Egypt to its present economic and social position. A second person is Dr. Adel El-Beltagy. During the NARP years, he was Chairman of the Board of the ARC and Director General of NARP. Then he became the Director General of ICARDA and today, he serves as the Chairman of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research He is a life 11 long friend and an inspiration in writing this text. A great pleasure of these years has been working with him and knowing his family. Numerous Egyptians have always been available to encourage, critique and provide understanding to me and to the programs of joint interest. The alphabetical order is used to indicate their equal value to me and to the programs discussed in this report. Abdel F. Mohamed Metawie, Chairman Nile water sector Abdel Aziz Elsherif, Commercial Attache, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Egypt Adel A. Kader, Professor, University of California Adel M. Aboul-Naga, International linkages Ayman Abou Hadid, President, Agricultural Research Center Magdy A. Madkour, creator Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute Mahmoud Abu Zeid, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation 12 World Opinion Recognizes Agriculture World Development Report In announcing "Agriculture for Development" as the theme of the World Development Report (WDR) for 2008, (127) François Bourguignon, Sr. Vice President of the World Bank, said that growth in agriculture makes a disproportionately positive contribution to reducing poverty. By illuminating the links between agriculture, economic growth and poverty reduction, the report offers a timely assessment of how agriculture can best foster development. According to Nathaniel Don Marquez (126), Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) the theme reflects the importance and prominence of agriculture. Many international summits and conferences have declared that there is an urgency to save agriculture
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