An expanded meeting with the Regional Director of the World Bank to discuss ways to achieve agricultural development

Agricultural development constitutes one of the main axes for achieving sustainable economic growth and enhancingfood security, especially in light of the increasing challenges associated with climate change, pressures on natural resources, and growing demand for food.

Achieving agricultural development depends on building integrated systems that include increasing production and improving agricultural practices, as well as managing water resources, developing value chains, promoting digital transformation, and enabling rural communities to participate more in economic activity.

In this context, Egypt is moving to adopt more comprehensive approaches to support agricultural and rural development, by expanding the scope of international partnerships and developing the institutional and service infrastructure supporting the agricultural sector, which contributes to raising production efficiency, improving farmers’ incomes, and enhancing the ability of the Egyptian countryside to keep pace with accelerating economic and environmental transformations.

Strengthening partnerships with global funding agencies

In this spirit, Mr. Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, met with Ms. Maskreem Burhan, Regional Director for Sustainable Development at the World Bank for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region, within the framework of the Egyptian State’s keenness to strengthen international partnerships and enhance development cooperation with international financial institutions.

The Ministry of Agriculture aims to strengthen agricultural infrastructure and improve the incomes of small farmers, ensuring increased agricultural production and achieving food security for the Egyptian people. Therefore, it is working to achieve continuous and close coordination between it and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, to discuss various interventions and study the technical and economic feasibility of the proposals submitted by international organizations.

Intensive meetings to achieve agricultural development

For her part, the Regional Director confirmed that the World Bank is holding a series of intensive meetings with the relevant ministries, particularly agriculture and irrigation, as they are the basic foundation and essential partner in implementing strategies to achieve food security.

These efforts – both local and regional – contribute to achieving comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal (2) Zero Hunger, Goal (17) Contracting Companies to Achieve Goals, and Goal (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

In the same context, the meeting discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the two sides, in line with the shared vision of supporting sustainable agricultural development efforts, and advancing the discussion on the broader cooperation program in Egypt, which is supported by the World Bank’s management in the region to cover vital interconnected sectors including agriculture, food, climate, environment, and water.

Reshaping the Rural Economy

The state’s approach is based on adopting development models aimed at reshaping the rural economy and enhancing the contribution of small farmers in agricultural value chains, thus increasing their ability to access markets, finance, and modern technology.

This trend reflects a shift in the philosophy of agricultural development from focusing on increasing production alone to paying attention to the various episodes related to the agricultural sector, starting from providing financing, extension and technological services, through improving the efficiency of using natural resources, all the way to enhancing agricultural industrialization and expanding access to markets. This approach would contribute to raising the competitiveness of agricultural products and enhancing the sector’s contribution to achieving sustainable economic growth.

Initiatives to achieve comprehensive agricultural development

In this context, the “Agri Connect” initiative of the World Bank Group is an ambitious development umbrella that aims to help 300 million small farmers move from the stage of self-sufficiency to achieving surplus production by building an integrated system that includes strong cooperatives, better market links, and improving access to financing and digital tools for development partners, whereby the World Bank Group is committed to doubling its financing in the field of agricultural business.

The initiative focuses on three main axes, including food as the basis for transforming rural areas into employment centres, food as a pillar of economies across value chains, manufacturing and refrigeration, and food as an essential source for humans to meet increasing demand in light of climate change and water scarcity.

Building a more resilient rural economy

The “Productive Village” initiative also aims to rely on the comparative advantage and productivity of each village and its economic rehabilitation, while achieving integration between projects and programs implemented by the Ministries of Agriculture and Irrigation, and developing and modernizing agricultural associations and water user associations to maximize the efficiency of resource exploitation and adopt climate-friendly technological solutions.

Regarding the “Productive Village” initiative, the minister added that the ministry aims, through it, to maximize the added value of the resources available in Egyptian villages, and to transform agricultural associations and water associations into dynamic entities capable of supporting the farmer and applying modern technology, pointing out that the integration of efforts between the ministries of agriculture and irrigation, in coordination with international institutions, contributes directly to raising the efficiency of irrigation water use and securing Egypt’s production of strategic crops in the face of climate challenges.

In conclusion, in light of the initiatives presented during the meeting, we see a gradual shift in the approach to agricultural development from focusing on increasing production to building an integrated system linking farms, markets, finance, technology and infrastructure, in a way that enhances the added value of agricultural activities and raises the efficiency of exploiting available resources.

This trend reflects a growing realization that the future of the agricultural sector depends on the ability of the entire system to transform resources into sustainable economic opportunities that support growth and provide more stable sources of income for rural communities.

In turn,The Earth Guards Foundation appreciates the role of development partnerships with the World Bank in accelerating the shift towards a more efficient and flexible agricultural model, based on empowering small farmers and integrating them into agricultural value chains and enhancing the role of the countryside in national economic activity, which supports achieving food and water security, confronting climate change, and enhancing economic and social sustainability in the long term. Long.