Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza approved a plan to increase the production of wheat in order to meet domestic demands.
The minister also requested a report as to whether the current cold wave and future climate changes would adversely affect seed cultivation in the next few years.
“We expect a cold winter and a hot summer to come,” Abaza said. “And so we must develop a new generation of seeds that can accommodate such changes.”
Ministry sources said the government would produce seeds to cover 50 percent of the total 3.1 million acres of wheat cultivation, with the rest to be supplied by private sector companies.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Solidarity said it is applying a new strategy to encourage wheat cultivation.
“We will make sure the supply is in accordance with ministry standards,” said Ali Shaker, president of the Agricultural Development Bank, the body mandated with supervising wheat supplies.
Abaza said he ordered a plan to increase sugar production so as to reduce the current gap between supply and demand.
“We produce 2 million tons of sugar per year, while local demand stands at 2.7 million tons,” he explained. ”This means we import only 30 percent of our needs.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
