Former Agriculture Minister Yousef Wali Dies

Former Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and Deputy Prime minister, Dr. Yousef Wali, has passed away today, Saturday, aged 89.

Wali graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture. Wali served as Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation in 1984. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister. Late President Gamal Abdel Nasser honored him with the State Prize in 1968, while late President Anwar Sadat honored him with the State Prize in 1977.

During Wali's tenure as Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and as a Deputy Prime Minister, he worked to obtain funding for research and development in agriculture which helped Egypt increase the productivity of the land for crops such as maize, wheat, rice, and cotton to unprecedented rates.

Wali also fostered the economic gains of organically grown crops. He foresaw the potential for agriculture to play an important role in the bio-technology and the environment.