Ard Elkheir, the subsidiary of Misr Elkheir, aims to provide meat for 2 million people by the end of the year through Sukuk Elkheir, a programme that secured meat for 1 million people last year.
Emad Zaky, the company’s farms’ director, said the number of calves expected to be requested for Sukuk Elkheir programme may reach 4,500 compared to 2,800 last year, with an average weight of 430 to 450 kg.
Ard Elkheir’s capital amounts to EGP 25m. It is affiliated to Misr Elkheir and owns four farms in different areas, including Tor in Sinai, Assiut, and in Al Wahat.
Each farm has different stages of raising livestock from breeding, fattening, and emulsification, by improving Egyptian breeds with Italian cows.
Ahmed Hussein, Director of the Youth Graduates Project at Ard Elkheir, said that the company is working to employ youth, widows, and divorced women by helping them and being their guarantors at the National Bank of Egypt and the Agriculture Bank of Egypt to receive loans of up to EGP 500,000 at an interest of 5%, as part of the initiative launched by President Sisi at the beginning of 2016 to support small projects worth EGP 200bn.
Each farm chooses 150 people per the 6-year training course. The number of beneficiaries of the courses in four different governorates is up to 3,000, including 175 in the current phase in Assiut.
The beneficiaries get some EGP 500,000, and get allocations inside the farm enough for 20 cattle which they attend to.
One of the beneficiaries, Ragab Abdel Hafez, said profited EGP 30,000 per course and has gained experience that he plans to use in his own venture.
He added that the company is managing 100,000 cattle, with sales of over EGP 1bn last year.
Sedika Hamed, a mother of eight all under 20 years-old, said her husband has died and she has an income of only EGP 400, which she receives from working at a day-care. She learned about the company from her neighbour, submitted her papers and was accepted. “I want to learn to have my own project to help in spending on my children,” she said.
