Egypt turns to urban agriculture to revive historically powerful sector
“It will be a comprehensive agriculture city that includes all necessary facilities and involves agriculture projects and sector-related ones.”
(Hamed Abdel Dayem, spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture)
Egypt is turning to urban agriculture by establishing its first agriculture city in the southeast part of the Qattara Depression, northwest of the country, as part of efforts aimed at reviving a sector that goes back to the time of the pharaohs.
The $US 10 billion agriculture city will span an area of 311,400 acres and will be established under the supervision of the Korean Arab Company for Economic and Cultural Consultancy. The city will host 50,000 smart greenhouses in addition to a number of seawater desalination and solar power plants. It will also include the planting of water-saving strategic crops, the establishment of fish farms and feed factories.
“The city will be a great bellwether [for] the agriculture sector. It will provide thousands of job opportunities for young people and will achieve self-sufficiency from a number of strategic crops,” Hamed Abdel Dayem, told Egyptian Streets.
Read the full article by Menna A. Farouk via Egyptian Streets.
[Photo by stttijn | Flickr]
