Egyptian government making headway in fight against Cairo's 'black cloud'
While finding solutions for clearing the black cloud of smog produced from burning rice straw in Cairo, the Egyptian government is hoping to simultaneously create a boon for Egypt’s economy.
The Egyptian government is making noticeable progress in its fight against the black cloud — a thick layer of smog from burning rice straw that spreads across Cairo and the Nile Valley for several weeks after the rice harvest each autumn.
This year, the Egyptian Ministry of Environment has convinced farmers to stop burning rice straw and instead collect it and hand it over to the government to be recycled and turned into other products.
“Agricultural waste represents an economic value, and the ministry has embarked on a plan to turn rice straw into natural fertilizers and animal fodder,” Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy said, according to the semi-official daily newspaper Al-Ahram.
The minister added that the government is planning to establish a factory in the Nile Delta governorate of Beheira in order to turn rice straw into paper using an environmentally friendly Chinese technology.
