Embassy of Japan, ICARDA discuss new project” Reversing Egypt’s Diminishing Food Security"

 Embassy of Japan in Egypt and ICARDA (International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas) exchanged documents on 27 January 2025 in Cairo regarding the launch of the new project” Reversing Egypt’s Diminishing Food Security”. The project, made possible through US$750,000 grant from Government of Japan, will target the governorates of Qena, Menya, and Kafr El Sheikh to improve agricultural resilience, optimize resource use, and strengthen rural livelihoods. This project will be implemented in collaboration with Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) and Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR).

The project aims to empower Egypt’s rural communities to withstand the growing challenges of food insecurity caused by climate change, rapid population growth, and resource scarcity. Key components of the project include introducing green energy-powered irrigation systems, restoring saline-affected lands, and promoting high-quality seeds and modern cultivation techniques. These efforts are projected to directly benefit for smallholder farmers and build the capacities of agricultural extension agents and irrigation engineers in Egypt.

The project will integrate cutting-edge technologies, such as meska-shading solar panels, buried-pipe and cement-lining lifted marwas (on-farm water-distribution ditches), internal ditch/drain networks for leaching and transforming highly saline fallow into productive agricultural/aquacultural lands, small-scale solar-powered post-harvest units, and ICARDA’s GeoAgro-Misr digital agricultural advisory smartphone application, to increase water and energy efficiency while supporting sustainable agricultural practices. The project will also focus on gender inclusion by empowering women farmers through access to training, small-scale food processing units, and decision-making opportunities.

“Strengthening food security is one of Japan’s priorities, and even under the influence of factors such as increased food demand and climate change, sufficient and safe food must be available to all people, at all times.” Said Ambassador IWAI, 'This cooperation with ICARDA will contribute to strengthening water and food security in Egypt, and to sustaining peace and stability in the Middle East and Africa region.”

The meeting between Ambassador IWAI Fumio and Mr. Aly Abousabaa, highlighted the collaborative activities that contributed to reducing rural poverty in the Upper Egypt and Nile Delta Regions of Egypt through improving water rationalization, increasing agricultural productivity for smallholder farmers, and creating economic opportunities for poor rural households. They also discussed how ICARDA’s innovations accompanied by several complementary interventions bridged the gap between research and scalability in the bilateral activities.

“This partnership underscores the power of international collaboration to address the urgent issues of food security and climate resilience,” said Mr. Aly Abousabaa. “It is always an honor working with the Government of Japan to bring our innovative solutions to life. I am confident in this project’s ability to create sustainable impacts for Egypt’s agricultural sector.”

The Reversing Egypt’s Diminishing Food Security project aligns with Egypt’s “Agricultural Development Strategy Towards 2030” and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

This collaboration builds on Japan’s long-standing partnership with CGIAR, the global agricultural research network of which ICARDA is the designated Central and West Asia, North Africa, and Middle East research center. Since joining CGIAR in 1972, Japan has played a pivotal role in advancing agricultural research and innovation, particularly in addressing water and land scarcity in dryland regions. Notable successes include pioneering work on supplemental irrigation and rainwater harvesting, technologies that have restored degraded rangelands and boosted agricultural productivity in water-scarce areas.

More recently, in Egypt, FAO, in partnership with ICARDA received a ¥520 million (approximately $3.8 million USD) grant from Japan for the Enhancement of Agricultural Productivity Project, which addresses critical food security challenges linked to global instability and climate change by focusing on small-scale farmers in rural areas, including Upper Egypt and the Nile Delta by deploying advanced technologies like solar-powered pumps, agri-voltaic greenhouses, lightweight raised-bed machines, and climate-resilient crop varieties, the project aims to enhance crop yields, improve water efficiency, and uplift rural livelihoods.