Al-Mashat: Egypt Adopts a Locally Global Lens to Ensure Food Security Is Restored

To prioritize and respond to the escalating global food security crisis, Egypt is taking steps to ensure that both global and local food security is restored through international cooperation, and that more support is provided to the most affected smallholder farmers.

The Minister of International Cooperation,  Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, delivered those remarks during a virtual panel titled, ““Coordinating Action in a Global Alliance for Food Security “ at the international conference "Uniting for Global Food Security" held by the German government.

The panel session was chaired by Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and included a number of ministers and prominent development officials from countries around the world, including António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, David R. Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, David Paisley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, and Catherine M. Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

In her speech, the Minister amplified the message that local food security is interconnected with global collective action, and that Egypt is integrating global and local perspectives through a “locally global” lens that is responsive to the needs of the communities and particularly smallholder farmers, who only receive 1.7 percent of climate finance, according to a report released by the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The Minister also commended the role of the Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), which was established by the Group of Seven (G7), as well as the launch of the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance by the United Nations to respond to the global food security crisis.

Since 2014, Egypt has expanded its investments in the national project of silos, which aims to build 50 grains and wheat storage silos across 17 governorates. This national project raised the storage capacity from 1.2 million tonnes to 3.4 million tons over a period between 2014 and 2018. The Minister added that 50% of Egypt’s consumed wheat is locally produced, as Egypt has been able to achieve self-sufficiency through cultivating 3.7 million acres with wheat, producing 9.5 to 10 million tons.

In light of Egypt’s presidency of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which will be held in November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt will focus on illustrating how national and global pledges regarding climate action can be turned into implementable projects, and also highlight the need to close climate financing gaps through risk mitigation tools.