The political leadership has provided unprecedented support to the agriculture sector over the past eight years, affirmed Agriculture and Land Reclamation Minister El Sayyed el Quseir.

He also cited the political leadership’s affirmation that agriculture plays a major role in economic growth.

The political leadership also issues constant directives to expand in the production of strategic crops, affirmed the minister during his speech at the Senate’s plenary session on Monday to clarify the agricultural policies of the government in light of the ensuing local and regional challenges.

The government has increased investments earmarked to the agriculture sector over the past years, he added.

The minister further referred to the several national agriculture projects which have been implemented in the country over the past period.

The agriculture sector represents a main pillar in the national economy, contributing more than 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, the minister went on to say.

Citing a recent report issued by Fitch Solutions, the minister said that the agriculture sector is one of the target sectors to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).

The Egyptian government is taking serious steps to curb inflation, increase local production and exports, reduce reliance on imports, and bolster both foreign investment and foreign exchange reserves, the minister quoted the report as saying.

As per the report, Egypt’s agricultural exports exceeded 6.4 million tons in 2022, making a fresh high record, with an increase of more than 624,000 tons from 2021, said the minister.

In 2022, Egypt opened 16 new markets for its agricultural products to help raise exports, according to the report.

The report also shed light on the existence of various investment opportunities in the agriculture sector, topped by the land reclamation projects, including the New Delta project, which is located in an area of one million acres, said the minister.

Source: State Information Service Egypt