Min. of Agriculture: 21 joint Egyptian farms in Africa by 2021

CAIRO, AUG 10 (SEE) Minister of Agriculture Ezzaldin Abusteit received on Thursday a delegation from the African Parliament Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources to review the ministry's vision towards intensifying cooperation between the two parties.

Abusteit said that Egypt is the natural extension of Africa and that the ministry is keen to achieve fruitful cooperation with all the countries of the continent.

He expressed his aspiration to benefit from all available natural and human resources to achieve such cooperation.

He pointed out that Egypt has eight farms in countries like Niger, Zanzibar, Zambia, Mali, Congo, Togo, Eritrea and Uganda, expecting the number of farms to reach 21 by 2021.

Abusteit stressed the importance of exchanging Egyptian-African experiences, implementing technology transfer programs in agriculture, and encouraging agricultural investment opportunities, which will contribute to the added value of agricultural production in Africa and thus achieve food security for the African continent.

For her part, Mona Mehrez Deputy Minister of Agriculture said: "There is a long history of cooperation between Egypt and African countries in agriculture, especially in the field of training."

More than 500 trainees from different African countries are annually trained in the International Center for Agriculture to promote sustainable development in African countries.