On the 70th anniversary of National Farmers’ Day in Egypt, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi hailed Egyptian farmers' dedication to achieving food security for the country and stressed the government’s commitment to ensuring a decent life for them and their families.
"The Egyptian farmer has always been exerting effort and breaking sweat with … dedication and sincerity to achieve food security for the country," El-Sisi said in a statement on Friday.
"My sincere appreciation and respect to the farmers of Egypt’s countrywide, on their day, in which they regained their dignity and pride," the president added.
National Farmers' Day is celebrated on 9 September each year, marking the issuance of the Agrarian Reform Law in 1952.
On this date, the Free Officers Movement – who had taken power in the 23 July 1952 Revolution – issued a decree to redistribute agricultural lands to poor farmers in a bid to achieve social justice.
The president assured them that he
will continue to direct the government to exert all possible efforts to support
farmers, ensure a decent life for them and their families, enhance their
incomes, and provide additional financial incentives to encourage them to
supply their crops to the government.
Amid the global disruptions in wheat supplies triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, Egypt has introduced new price guidelines to incentivize farmers to sell more wheat to the government, raising the price of an ardeb of wheat to EGP 880 in May and again to EGP 1,000 starting October.
The incentives led farmers to supply the government with 4.2 million tons of wheat by the end of the harvest season at the end of August, up from 3.5 million tons procured in 2021.
According to recent estimates, Egyptian who live in rural areas comprise 58 percent of the 104 million population and farmers constitute 25 percent of the labor force.
The state had been ramping up efforts in recent years to improve the standards of living, infrastructure, and services for citizens who live in rural areas through the Decent Life initiative.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
