Egypt

ICARDA Egypt Office established in 1978 

Country manager: Aladdin Hamwieh  

Overview 

ICARDA’s work in Egypt is made possible through the support of our national partners, The government of Egypt, Agricultural Research Centre (ARC) CGIAR Research Program on WHEAT, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), CGIAR GENDER Platform, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU),  Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE).

ICARDA’s partnership with Egypt dates to 1979 when, together with Sudan, ICARDA launched the Nile Valley Project. An ever-growing research partnership has successfully delivered solutions to improving livelihoods and enhancing food security.  

Egypt forms the hub of ICARDA's Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional Program, which strategically aligns activities with Sudan, Eritrea and Yemen. The country is also a key player in ICARDA's new decentralization strategy as a thematic research location for sustainable intensification in irrigated systems, and, is a financially contributing member of the CGIAR as a result of its collaboration with ICARDA. 

Collaborative research activities help strengthen the resilience of Egypt’s agricultural sector against multiple challenges such as climate change, water scarcity and rising food import dependence. Outputs include the development of new resilient and climate-smart varieties of strategic crops like faba bean and bread wheat in addition to barley, durum wheat, lentil and chickpea; proven technologies that use water more productively; small ruminant breeding under heat stress; and sustainable land management practices.  

Activities

• Capacity strengthening of farmers, extension staff, local scientists, and community workers are integrated across all research activities, crop improvement, advanced biotechnology tools, water management, seed production and the use of GIS application. 

• Raised-bed planting: a practice that involves planting crops on ridges and applying irrigation water to the bottom of furrows, which offers a more efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional irrigation techniques.  

• A collaboration with Egypt’s Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute has successfully harnessed advanced biotechnology to develop climate-resilient chickpea, faba bean and wheat varieties.  

• Replacement of traditional wheat varieties used by farmers with fast-track rust-resistant/heat-tolerant wheat of rapid seed multiplication. 

• Partnerships with Egyptian institutes and authorities to improve the productivity of irrigation water through intensification of existing cultivated land.  

• Since 2009, the ICARDA-Agricultural Research Center (ARC) Wheat Improvement Program (WIP) has improved germplasm, enhanced crop management, and strengthened national capacity in wheat production. 

• Releasing new varieties of faba bean resistant to Orobanche and viruses. 

• Enhancing barley production in north Egypt and in the marginal lands to introduce barley flour instead of wheat in Baladi bread. 

• Genetic analysis of sheep and goats indigenous to the drylands to determine how their genetic 'fingerprints' best suit them to be resilient in the face of climate change.