In support of our brothers and sisters on the continent, Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture concludes training program for 11 African delegates.

Written by Mohamed Salem

Alaa Farouk, the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, witnessed the graduation ceremony of a number of African cadres participating in the international training program entitled: “Water Treatment Management and Salinity Control”, within the framework of the political leadership’s directives to enhance joint cooperation with brothers in the African continent and transfer Egyptian expertise in agricultural fields.

The program was organized by the Egyptian International Center for Agriculture, with foreign agricultural relations, in cooperation with the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development, affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for a period of two weeks.

During the closing ceremony, the Minister of Agriculture, in the presence of Ambassador Khaled El-Shazly, Deputy Secretary-General of the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, handed over certificates to the 11 trainees, representing 11 African countries: Gabon, Niger, Chad, Tanzania, Djibouti, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, and Nigeria. He emphasized the depth of Egyptian-African relations, stressing that Egypt is putting its capabilities and technical expertise in the agricultural sector at the service of the Sustainable Development Goals and achieving food security in the African continent.

Farouk emphasized that the Ministry of Agriculture, through the Egyptian International Center for Agriculture, will continue to provide these quality programs that contribute to building the capacities of African cadres, thereby enhancing the efficiency of water resource management and addressing climate challenges in the continent.

Knowledge bridges in the African continent

The Minister of Agriculture added that these training programs represent a “bridge of knowledge” that contributes to unifying continental visions towards food security issues, noting that transferring Egyptian technology in water resources management to African brothers is a strategic investment to confront global water scarcity. The Minister also stressed that empowering African cadres with agricultural innovation tools is the real guarantee for achieving a comprehensive agricultural renaissance capable of withstanding the economic and climatic fluctuations that the region is witnessing.

For his part, Dr. Saad Moussa, Undersecretary of the Agricultural Research Center for Research Affairs and Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations, said that the program lasted for two weeks and included two parallel tracks to ensure maximum technical benefit, namely the theoretical aspect, which dealt with vital topics including water treatment technologies to meet plant needs, sustainable management to control irrigation water salinity, and determining the water requirements of various crops.

Areas of the training program

He explained that the lectures focused on the relationship between soil, water and plants, and the impact of modern irrigation systems on water balance, while opening the door for discussion to find innovative solutions to salinity problems in the participating countries. He pointed out that the program also included field visits to the governorates of Kafr El-Sheikh and Alexandria, which included: practical training on taking soil samples and analyzing them in the laboratory, as well as inspecting the water desalination plants at the “Al-Bustan” station in the graduate youth project in Nubaria. They also learned about experiences of agriculture in desert lands and their transformation into productive areas using technology and scientific research in “model farms”.

He said that tours were also organized for the delegates in the governorates of Giza and Alexandria, which included visits to historical and archaeological sites, to inform the participants about Egypt’s civilizational status and its pioneering role throughout the ages.