Egyptian Wheat Farmers Cope with Compounding Disruptions

Egypt, which imported 80 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine last year, is now turning to alternative markets, including a recent deal with India for half a million tons of the crucial, life-sustaining crop.

Mohamed Abdo, a wheat farmer, says, "The daily wage for harvesting workers has been raised from 90 LE ($4.92) last year to 120 LE ($6.56) this year in response to the recent price inflation (of basic commodities)."

The agriculture sector employs approximately 25 percent of Egypt's workforce.

As Egypt seeks to bolster its four-month supply of strategic wheat reserves, local farmers are now required by the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade to sell a percentage of their grain yields to the government.

El-Sayed El-Quseir, Egypt's Minister of Agriculture, says, "We’ve taken proactive steps to face the global economic crisis, including the National Project of Silos, which has increased our ability to maintain strategic reserves."

Egypt's wheat harvest was delayed by three weeks this year, due to a spell of bad weather at the end of March through the beginning of April.

Hajj Salah, a vegetable farmer who planted half of his land with onions, says, "The price of onions is not as good as last year. I hope I'll be able to cover my farming costs and regular family expenses."

Mohamed Hassan, a wheat farmer, says, "The wheat roots increase the salinity of the soil, and now we are not allowed to plant rice freely to cleanse it. I'm not sure if I'll plant wheat next season."

Facing the effects of rapid population growth and climate change, as well as the threat of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, many struggling farmers depend on wastewater to irrigate their crops, which leads to unhealthy yields.

Egypt's Minister of Agriculture, says, "We are collecting wheat from farmers that will be returned back to the nation in the form of subsidized bread"—a lifeline upon which two-thirds of Egyptians rely.