The Sun-Dried Tomato (SDT) Unit project in Luxor’s Baghdadi village will contribute to protecting against food security through reducing crop losses, whilst also increasing farmers’ incomes by 30%.
The project will help raise Egypt’s market value in exports and ensure that families and households become more sustainable, according to Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat.
The minister’s remarks came during her visit to the project, which aims to increase the market value of Egypt’s crops and create sustainable communities through integrating gender equality.
Minister Al-Mashat noted that the project will invest in greater female participation in agriculture, by employing only women and providing 200 seasonal job opportunities. She added that women are regarded as the backbone of Egypt’s agricultural sector, representing around 40% of the country’s labour force.
“This project illustrates the power of partnerships in achieving human development goals and up-scaling efforts to create impact,” Minister Al-Mashat said, “With our partner, the World Food Programme (WFP), I was inspired to see the determination of many women to not only create a life opportunity for themselves, but also for their families and communities.”
WFP director Menghestab Haile noted that projects set up by the WFP in partnership with the Ministry of International Cooperation aim to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment.
These efforts have been put in place to ensure real community transformation, so that every individual in the household benefits.
“The knowledge and skills generated today by farmers and women in Egypt will be shared to Africa as a whole,” he added.
The high-level visit comes as part of the ministry’s celebration of the UN’s 75th anniversary, which has revealed the urgency of cooperation and strengthening partnerships to deliver the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Egypt Vision 2030 agenda.
To celebrate the UN’s anniversary, Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation produced a video entitled ‘Beyond Food’, showcasing the history of Egypt’s partnership with the WFP. The video also highlights the joint Egypt-WFP efforts to end hunger and transform communities.
The ministry also announced recent expansions and renovations in several projects, which will increase the total number of beneficiaries under the small farmer resilience programme to one million farmers located in 500 villages by 2023.
In line with the ministry’s PPP driving principles, namely People at the core, Projects in action and Purpose, the SDT project helps achieve some of the SDGs. These include Goal 1 for putting an end to poverty, Goal 2 for ending hunger, Goal 5 for improving gender equality, Goal 11 for sustainable cities and communities, and Goal 17 for partnerships for the goals.
