Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Aug. 17 inaugurated 1,300 greenhouse facilities established over an area of 10,000 feddans (10,378 acres) in Marsa Matrouh governorate in Egypt's Western Desert as part of the national project to build 100,000 greenhouses to meet the needs of 20 million of the country's 100 million citizens.
The project is being implemented by the National Company for Protected Crops, which is affiliated with the Armed Forces National Service Projects Organization; this has raised questions about the extent of military participation in agriculture.