Egyptian scientist creates new rice variety that requires less water
An Egyptian scientist and head of the National Rice Development Project at the Ministry of Agriculture invented a new type of rice that does not need much water, after the Egyptian government announced that the country is suffering from water poverty.
CAIRO — Egyptian Minister of Agriculture El-Sayed al-Qusayr honored April 15 Hamdi al-Mawafi, head of the National Rice Development Project at the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, as the latter received in early April the gold medal at the 2022 Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, for an applied innovation by devising the giant “Sakha Super 300” rice variety, which withstands water scarcity.
On April 6, Mawafi said during a TV interview, “The high productivity per acre of the new type of rice will contribute to the Egyptian state’s vision and endeavors to achieve rice self-sufficiency and export some quantities abroad.”
He noted, “The regular rice crop produces 4 tons per acre, while the new giant Sakha Super 300 variety produces 5 tons per acre.”
Mawafi said, “The new variety tolerates soil salinity, which enables the state to extensively plant it in the governorates of Kafr el-Sheikh, Beheira, Gharbia, Dakahlia, Damietta and Sharqia, as well as in reclaimed lands affected by soil salinity and water scarcity.”
