CAIRO — Despite Egypt’s limited water resources, the Egyptian government is confident and decisive about cultivating 4 million undeveloped acres for agricultural use outside the Nile Valley and the Delta line. This new plan for farmland is not without difficulties, chief among which is the water shortage and the lack of adequate money for the reclamation of desert lands.
The project started with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's electoral program and consists of cultivating the land to achieve food security. It also aims to strengthen competitiveness within domestic and international markets and developing the agricultural production of each unit of land and water. The project was adopted by the government formed by Sisi following his victory, and the Ministry of Agriculture announced a set of measures to start land distribution and to develop implementation timelines.