Field Visit to Kafr El Sheikh Governorate Under The Project for “Enhancement of Agricultural Productivity” by FAO and Japan

ICARDA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) are jointly organizing a field day on July 28, 2024, in Kafr El Sheikh to showcase the progress of activities related to the Project for Enhancement of Agricultural Productivity. This project will support the Egyptian government’s efforts to improve food security and income generation in selected sites in Minya, Qena and Kafr El Sheikh by introducing solar-powered irrigation with modern irrigation systems, scalable raised bed machinery, microtopography-induced soil salinity control during soil leaching, digital extension tools, access to improved seeds, and farmer field schools. The project was made possible thanks to the generous funding of the Embassy of Japan in Egypt.

The field day will be honored by the presence of Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, H.E. Prof. Hani Sewilam (tbc), the Governor of Kafr El Sheikh, General Alaa Abdel Moati, the Japanese Ambassador in Egypt, H.E. Oka Hiroshi, the FAO Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for the Near and Far East, Dr. Abdulhakim Elwaer, as well as the Director General of ICARDA, Mr. Aly Abousabaa.

The day will start with a meeting with the governor of Karf El Sheikh. Following that, the esteemed guests will proceed to Arimon village, where they will meet farmers and irrigation engineers at a running farmer's field school session about rice cultivation with seedling techniques and mechanization. ICARDA scientists will then introduce the first prototype of a lightweight raised-bed machine. After visiting a greenhouse construction site at Al Waraq village, the day will conclude with a farmer's field school graduation ceremony at Teda village.

The previous raised-bed machine, jointly developed by ICARDA and national partners, was tractor-pulled and raised seedbeds, created irrigation furrows, and simultaneously sowed seeds. The machine provided a practical solution for saving water, reducing pump costs, lowering seed usage, improving fertilizer efficiency, increasing yields, and reducing farming costs. In the current project, ICARDA and national partners collaborated with a local manufacturer to introduce the first five prototype lightweight machines, weighing only 330 kg and capable of being pulled by a tractor of 25 hp. This new version of raised-bed machines will help improve scaling readiness and increase the number of farmers using raised-bed machines in Egypt.