CIHEAM IAM MONTPELLIER STUDY ON SMALL-SCALE FAMILY FARMING IN THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION FOCUS COUNTRY Egypt STUDY ON SMALL-SCALE FAMILY FARMING IN THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION FOCUS COUNTRY Egypt A. Aboulnaga, I. Siddik, W. Megahed, E. Salah, S. Ahmed, R. Nageeb, D. Yassin and M. Abdelzaher CIRAD – CIHEAM-IAMM The study was coordinated at country level by Prof. A. Aboul Naga Emeritus Scientist, Agriculture Research Center Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Prof. I. Siddik Agriculture Economist, Monofia University Prof. W. Megahed Agriculture Economist, Ain Shams University Scientific coordinators: Jacques Marzin / Pascal Bonnet CIRAD FAO Supervising officer: Alfredo Impiglia Delivery Manager Regional Initiative on Small-Scale Family Farming for the Near East and North Africa Region Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa, Cairo, Egypt E-mail: [email protected] Published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Center de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développment International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies Cairo, 2017 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM) or the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO, CIHEAM-IAMM or CIRAD in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO, CIHEAM-IAMM or CIRAD. ISBN 978-92-5-109525-6 (FAO) © FAO, CIHEAM-IAMM and CIRAD, 2017 FAO, CIHEAM-IAMM and CIRAD encourage the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO, CIHEAM-IAMM and CIRAD as the source and copyright holders is given and that FAO, CIHEAM-IAMM or CIRAD’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Cover photo: © Véronique Alary TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................ix Preface ..........................................................................................................................................x Acronyms .....................................................................................................................................xi Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... xiv Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1 The importance of agriculture in the Egyptian economy ............................................................ 1 SECTION ONE Small-scale family farming .......................................................................................................7 1.1 Existing typologies of small-scale family farming ............................................................ 7 1.1.1 Defining small-holder farmers ....................................................................................... 7 1.1.2 Legal entity of holdings in national statistics ................................................................. 8 1.1.3 Farm holding fragmentation ......................................................................................... 10 1.1.4 Land tenure in Egypt ..................................................................................................... 10 1.1.5 General conditions of small-scale farms of less than three feddans (SSF) ................. 12 1.2 Characteristics of small-scale family farming (SSFF)) ................................................... 13 1.2.1 Cultural characteristics ................................................................................................ 14 1.2.2 Family size ..................................................................................................................... 14 1.2.3 Family labour ................................................................................................................. 15 1.2.4 Educational Status ........................................................................................................ 17 1.2.5 Age structure of smallholders ...................................................................................... 18 1.2.6 Gender composition of the holders ............................................................................... 20 1.2.7 Legal forms of land tenure ............................................................................................ 21 1.2.8 Cropping patterns in smallholding ............................................................................... 23 1.2.9 Animal production ......................................................................................................... 25 1.2.10 Full-time agricultural activity ....................................................................................... 26 1.2.11 Irrigation and drainage systems ................................................................................... 28 1.3 Economic and social contributions of SSFF .................................................................... 30 1.3.1 Contribution of small holders to agricultural work ...................................................... 30 1.3.2 Contribution of smallholders to plant and animal production and to food security .... 31 1.3.3 Contribution of smallholders to exports ....................................................................... 32 1.3.4 Contribution of small-scale farmers to rural development ......................................... 32 1.4 Market access and connections ....................................................................................... 33 1.4.1 Description of the variety of marketing systems .......................................................... 33 1.4.2 The marketing margins of SSF ..................................................................................... 35 iii STUDY ON SMALL-SCALE FAMILY FARMING IN THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION FOCUS COUNTRY: EGYPT 1.5 Producers’ organizations and their respective role in supporting small farmers .......... 35 1.5.1 Governmental institutions ............................................................................................. 35 1.5.2 Cooperative organizations ............................................................................................. 36 1.5.3 Cooperative Water Wealth Union (CUWW) .................................................................... 37 1.5.4 Civil society organizations ............................................................................................. 38 SECTION TWO Trajectory and dynamics of structural change in the agricultural sector ................................41 2.1 Demographic dynamics ................................................................................................... 41 2.1.1 Population distribution by gender ................................................................................. 42 2.1.2 Urban/rural population distribution ............................................................................. 42 2.1.3 Age distribution of the population ................................................................................. 42 2.1.4 General characteristics of the rural population ........................................................... 44 2.2 Structural changes in the Egyptian economy .................................................................. 45 2.2.1 Changes in the contribution of the main sectors to GDP ............................................. 45 2.2.2 Changes in the structure of employment distribution between sectors ............................................................................................................ 47 2.2.3 Changes in the structure of agricultural domestic product ......................................... 48 2.2.4 Changes in cropping patterns ....................................................................................... 48 2.3 Social policy in rural context ...........................................................................................