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68 CHAPTER 4


The Agricultural Sector Agricultural Production


The Nile River Valley has been cultivated for at least 8,000 years, and it continues to be the focus of almost all agriculture in Egypt. About 90 percent of the agricultural area is concentrated in the Nile Delta, and most of the remainder falls within a few kilometers of the Nile and along the Mediterra- nean. Egypt is unusual in the MENA region in that 100 percent of its crop pro- duction is irrigated.1 As a result, crop yields in Egypt are relatively stable and are not subject to weather-related shocks as in most countries in the region. About 97 percent of the area of Egypt is uncultivated due to the extremely limited rainfall (World Bank 2008b).


The amount of arable land per capita is just 0.04 hectares, one of the low- est figures in the world. However, the combination of warm weather, fertile soil, and irrigation allows Egyptian farmers to achieve high yields and practice multiple cropping. Also, Egypt has a relatively large number of tractors (3.9 per 100 hectare of cropland), most of which are used on a rental basis. Fertil- izer use is the highest among the MENA countries, at over 700 kilograms per hectare of arable land.


In 1960 Egypt was self-sufficient in all basic food commodities with the exception of wheat, for which the country supplied 70 percent of it own needs. The self-sufficiency ratio declined dramatically for most products during the 1970s and 1980s due to a combination of rapid population growth and rising foreign currency inflows from exports (including cotton and textile products), remittances, and foreign aid. The rising dependence on imported food is a major concern among policymakers and has resulted in various attempts to restrict food imports and stimulate domestic production. Because of irrigation, farmers can produce two or three harvests per year. In the summer growing season, the main crops are maize, rice, and cotton, while in the winter wheat, berseem (Egyptian clover), and broad beans are grown. The nili (autumn) season is used for growing potatoes and vegetables. Grains account for almost half (47 percent) of the cultivated area, of which wheat is the most important, followed by maize and rice. Berseem, used for animal fodder, accounts for 17 percent of the planted area, while vegetables represent 12 percent and fruit 8 percent (Siam 2005).


Domestic resource cost analysis indicates that Egypt has a strong compar- ative advantage in the production of cotton, wheat, and fruits and vegetables and is moderately competitive in several less water-intensive crops such as


1 A large share of crop production in Djibouti is produced under irrigation, but no estimates are available.


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