Environmental experts warned of repercussions of an increase in Egypt's agricultural waste, which amounts to 30 million tons per year.
Officials have called on the government to intervene, particularly regarding farmers' tendency to burn their waste, which threatens the environment.
Abu Bakr al-Shahawy, the head of the Central Department at the Environment Ministry, said agricultural waste is largely found in the central and eastern Delta governorates.
The Agriculture Ministry is not doing enough to address the problem, he said, calling on it and relevant bodies such as municipalities to intervene.
Adel Zayed, governor of Qalyubiya, said agricultural waste is a huge burden on the governorate. He said he is currently discussing new methods to get rid of it with the private sector.
Farmers, meanwhile, said they are not the cause and do not have an alternative to burning this waste.
Ibrahim al-Sayyed, a farmer from Daqahlia, called for finding alternative, safer methods of dealing with it.
Hisham Sherif, an environment expert, called for turning agricultural waste into organic fertilizers.
Sherif told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he has presented his idea to the government and it is currently considering its implementation.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
