Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy met with Agriculture Minister Essam Fayed, the president of the General Assembly of Rice and Grain Producers and other Agriculture Ministry officials in Cairo to dicuss linking the export of rice to handing over straw to the government.
Officials said the link would ensure that rice shipments are not exported unless the straw is handed over to the government in order to prevent crop burning, which has caused pollution in some parts of the country.
Head of the Agricultural Extension Sector Mohamed Sobhy said the Agriculture Ministry does not hand over fertilizers to farmers who do not follow the law while cultivating rice.
Fahmy and Fayed held another meeting with representatives of the General Authority for Fish Resources Development to discuss the implementation of a protocol to regulate fishing in the Red Sea and the gulfs of Aqaba and Suez, especially during the reproduction period of fish between April and June.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
