The need to provide innovative solutions to support the food security file in Egypt has emerged, especially considering the successive crises and challenges globally, starting from the Corona pandemic through the Russian-Ukrainian crisis with the exacerbation of the risks of climate change, which has become a tangible reality.

The agriculture sector represents a key pillar in the Egyptian national economy, so President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi paid great attention to the agricultural sector, as the sector enjoys unprecedented and continuous support from the government, because it contributes about 15% of the gross domestic product, and absorbs more than 25% of the labor force in Egypt, in addition to the tangible contribution to maximizing foreign monetary reserves by increasing agricultural exports.

Strategic Objectives for the Future of Egyptian Food Security

-Conservation of economic resources

- Inclusive and inclusive development

Adaptation to climate change, with a view to conserving, conserving, improving, and developing available agricultural economic resources.

-Reduce the import gap

- Providing more job opportunities, especially for women and youth, and establishing new and integrated agricultural communities.

- Strengthening the competitiveness of agricultural products in local and international markets. 

The government has adopted innovation and technology programs in agriculture through:

- Deepening the role of applied research in the field of developing short-lived varieties that are tolerant of climate stresses 

-Leveraging AI and climate-smart agriculture programs

- Expanding modern agricultural mechanization, digital applications, and early warning systems to increase the flexibility and strengthening of the agricultural sector in marginal and climate-fragile areas

- Launching initiatives to encourage the transition to modern irrigation systems, especially considering the limited water resources as one of the challenges facing the agricultural sector in Egypt.

Egypt's efforts to support food security.

1- The Ministry of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), launched the Food and Agriculture Initiative for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) during the COP 27 climate conference.

 2- A strategy to achieve food security through 6 axes.

- Horizontal expansion through the addition of new lands considering the available resources

- Vertical expansion through the development of high-yielding varieties, the application of modern agricultural practices and the expansion of protected crops

- Increasing the competitiveness of agricultural exports and strengthening plant and animal health

- Supporting the agricultural sector by increasing investments directed to it

- Strengthening livestock, poultry, and fish production activities

- Changing consumption patterns as one of the mechanisms to reduce pressure on resources.

3- The state has adopted national programs for the reclamation of the desert.

4 – Activating the national program to produce seeds of vegetable crops

5 - Establishment of 332 centers for combined agricultural services

It is targeted to establish 332 centers for agricultural services grouped in the governorates (20 governorates with 52 centers) within the Decent Life initiative, at a cost of more than EGP 2 billion.

6 - Expansion of the provision of approved seeds for strategic crops

This is done through:

- Development of varieties and hybrids of short-lived crops of high productivity and early maturity and resistant to biological and environmental stresses and water-saving for strategic crops "wheat - corn - rice - cotton - beans Baladi"

Preparing and publishing a varietal map that suits the conditions of the cultivation areas in terms of soil nature, climatic conditions, and water needs, and increasing the coverage rate of approved seeds for strategic crops "wheat and corn ".

7 – Implementation of about 320 agricultural projects at a cost of more than 42 billion pounds in the areas of supporting agricultural development.

Motives for horizontal expansion projects

The most important motives for horizontal expansion are as follows: 

- Increasing the agricultural area

- Compensation for land losses because of urban expansion considering the limited land

- Raising the percentage of self-sufficiency in strategic goods

- Achieving relative food security

- Raising the efficiency of the use of natural resources from the land and water units

- Increase exports and maximize the added value of agricultural products

Motives for horizontal expansion projects

The most important motives for horizontal expansion are as follows: 

- Increasing the agricultural area

- Compensation for land losses because of urban expansion considering the limited land

- Raising the percentage of self-sufficiency in strategic goods

- Achieving relative food security

- Raising the efficiency of the use of natural resources from the land and water units

- Increase exports and maximize the added value of agricultural products

The most important horizontal expansion projects:

- The giant New Delta project with an area of 2.2 million acres

- South Valley Development Project "Toshka Al-Khair" with an area of 1.1 million feddans 

- North and Central Sinai Development Project with an area of 456 thousand acres

 - New Egyptian Rural Development Project with an area of 1.5 million feddans

- Other projects in some governorates of Upper Egypt and the New Valley with an area of 650 thousand acres.

The national project for greenhouses of 100,000 acres has been expanded.

Giant projects have been implemented in fisheries "Ghalioun Pond - Turquoise - Suez Canal" and Egypt is the third in the world in the production of tilapia fish and the first in Africa in fish farming.