Al-Mashat Oversees 10 Projects to Support Over 1 Mln Farmers in Luxor

Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat visited on Friday a number of development programs in partnership with USAID and WFP supporting farmers, women, and youth in Luxor.

Al-Mashat noted that the projects come within the ministry’s ‘Global Partnerships Narrative’ focused on three main pillars: people at the core, projects in action, and purpose as the driver, to streamline all development efforts under one umbrella dedicated to serving humanity, build human potential, and achieve sustainability in the process.

People at the Core

Putting people at the core, the projects target over one million farmers, women, and youth through 2030, which include the USAID-funded “Advanced Marketing and Agribusiness Logistics” AMAL Horticultural Pack House, which has helped provide 78,000 job opportunities and link 9 markets to farmers in Sohag, Qena, Al Qasr, and Aswan. It will also help farmers increase their productivity by applying smart farming technologies.

Al-Mashat also visits the inauguration of the new USAID-funded wastewater stabilization and treatment plant, which will have the capacity to serve up to 332,000 people through 2037 and use energy-efficient technologies with low power consumption to reduce the costs of operation.

[caption id="attachment_150761" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Dr. Al-Mashat in Luxor[/caption]

Providing training and technical assistance to more than 8000 farmers in seven governorates, and more than 12,000 women and their families on nutrition, the USAID-funded El Mahrousa Village Egypt Food Security and Agribusiness (FAS) project aims to promote food security for at least 14,000 Upper Egyptian smallholder farmers across seven focal governorates – including Assiut, Aswan, Beni-Suef, Luxor, Minya, Qena, and Sohag.

Al-Mashat also directly meets with smallholder farmers in El Boghdadi Village, where the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) and WFP have been assisting farmers to minimize their crop losses and provide loans for women to finance off-farm activities such as animal keeping and agro-processing.

The minister referred to the ‘She Can’ initiative, a joint program between the Ministry of Social Solidarity and WFP, as an inspiring project that can be used as a model for future initiatives that are dedicating to empowering women, highlighting that empowering women entrepreneurs leads to their independence and provides them with security.

Projects in Action: WFP and USAID

The Ministry of International Cooperation has been applying the principles of economic diplomacy to strengthen economic cooperation between Egypt and its development partners.

These principles include regularly organizing multi-stakeholder platforms to ensure that all projects between development partners are streamlined and effectively coordinated to accelerate the pace of development for the achievement of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); adopting a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative People&Projects&Purpose (P&P&P), and mapping ODA financing to SDGs for all projects with multilateral and bilateral development partners.

[caption id="attachment_150762" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Minister Al-Mashat[/caption]

In collaboration with the USAID and WFP, the visit oversees 10 projects implemented across several sectors in agriculture, women empowerment, and economic growth.

Purpose as the Driver

All projects have been targeting the following sustainable development goals: Goal 1 for no poverty through unlocking human potential, Goal 2 for zero hunger through ending all forms of malnutrition, Goal 4 for quality education through providing training and life skills for the future, Goal 5 for gender equality through promoting women empowerment, Goal 8 for decent work and economic growth, Goal 11 for sustainable cities and communities, and Goal 17 for partnerships to achieve the goals.