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Will Egypt's greenhouse project mark a leap in agricultural sector?

The Egyptian army is behind a project to build thousands of greenhouses nationwide, which raised criticism over the army’s role in the agricultural sector.

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A farmer picks cucumbers in a greenhouse near the village of Kafr Daud, north of Cairo, Egypt, April 2, 2016. — MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images

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.

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