Abdel Moneim al-Banna gives priority to Egyptian farmer

Egyptian Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abdel Moneim al-Banna stressed the Egyptian farmer is the basis of development, and without him, we will stand in our place, so we have to work to provide his requirements and needs.

"Egypt's political leadership, led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, knows that the Egyptian farmer is the basis of development and renaissance, and knows the size of his suffering, and strives to reduce them, so the first directives of President al-Sisi to me was the need to pay attention to farmers, and I am the first and last responsible for Egypt's farmers ," al-Banna said.

"My office's door will remain open all the time to all farmers, and I will contact with them personally, and I will listen to their problems," he added.

The upcoming period will witness the mainstreaming of the application of the mechanization of the electronic agricultural holding project (Farmer Card), having tested recently in Ismailia and proven its success, and we will deliver of 3.5 million of farmer cards during July next," the minister stated.

He stressed that farmer card will ensure reaching of required fertilizer to the farmers, according to data registered in the registration form, eliminating fertilizer trading on the black market and completely eliminating the middlemen.

Al-Banna revealed the existence of a development plan to promote agriculture, animal and fisheries resources in Egypt, based on six main themes, including restoring the rotation system and the development of field irrigation, as one of the methods of water conservation, the development of varieties of new plant strains, and the advancement of agricultural extension and improvers of the soil as well as opening new overseas markets for agricultural products.

"There are talks conducted between agricultural quarantine authorities and 12 countries to open their markets to the products of the Egyptian," he indicated.

He stressed the existence of a plan to promote the cultivation of wheat in Egypt, which aims to expand the cultivated areas by increasing the strategic crop to 3.6 million acres, in order to achieve an increase in total production, and put an end to import from abroad.

"Encroachment on agricultural land, one of the main obstacles in failure to achieve agricultural development in Egypt, it's also a crime against future generations before it would be a crime according to the provisions of the law, and we will face this phenomenon by law," the ministry added.