Egyptian Date Farmers Strained by Climate Change

Palms line the banks of the Mariotia Canal in Cairo, September 4, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)

These rotten dates will be used for livestock feed. Farmers blame the diminished quality of their crops on the double impact of rising temperatures and water shortages. September 4, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)

Scores of palm trees have either been ruined by climate change-related factors or removed for national development projects such as new roads and bridges, September 9, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)

“The average production of each palm used to be 120 kilograms per year,” says Abu Alaa, 54, a date farmer in Cairo, September 4, 2021. "Now, I would call myself lucky if it produced 100 kilograms. … I have debts that I don't know how to cover." (VOA/Hamad

Alaa Atef, 24, who has been harvesting dates by climbing the palm trees for 15 years, says date harvests have been "deteriorating gradually over the past few years.” "If these (trees) are gone, what job will I do?" September 4, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)

Poor children in Cairo collect unripe, fallen dates, an act that farmers tolerate, September 4, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)

"This year, the dates are not as sweet as they used to be, and they go bad quickly," says Farhan, 58, a father of seven who has been cultivating and trading the fruit for more than 45 years, in Cairo, September 9, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)

Farmers toss leafy palm branches on public roads to advertise their freshly harvested dates, in Cairo, Sept. 9, 2021. After vehicle tires crush the branches, they are repurposed for various weaving projects, a practice considered illegal because it makes

"I usually produce garden furniture or boxes for vegetables and fruits, but plastic is beating out all our natural products," says Eid, 28, a palm weaver and craftsman of 15 years, in Cairo, September 9, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)

Date farmers celebrate the harvest by paying debts and hosting weddings, in Cairo, August 20, 2021. (VOA/Hamada Elrasam)