The United Nations (UN) has hailed Egypt’s projects in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) aimed at reducing food loss and waste.
The international organisation’s praise came as part of its celebrations for the first International Day for Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.
The UN shared details of the sun drying tomato project in El Nubaria via its official Instagram account. The project is being implemented in as part of the “Food Loss and Waste Reduction and Value Chain Development for Food Security in Egypt” project. It was set up in partnership with the FAO, and Egypt’s Ministries of International Cooperation, and Agriculture and Land Reclamation.
The UN said that about 14% of the world’s food is wasted, with a large percentage also lost at various levels of consumption. It added that the global waste rate currently stands at about 20%.
Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation has sought to relieve the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the country’s agriculture sector by implementing a number of joint projects with the World Food Program (WFP) and the FAO.
The ministry aims to achieve food security, reduce food loss and waste, support small farmers, strengthen value chains, and provide farmers with modern technological tools.
Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, said that agriculture is one of the most vital and important sectors for national development. It represents 14% of Egypt’s GDP growth, constituting 28% of job opportunities and 55% of rural employment.
The ministry has been keen on putting farmers and their families at the core to equip them with the adequate skills needed to meet the demands of the modern economy. There are currently 13 agricultural projects, worth a total of $545.42m, being implemented across 27 governorates, which will reach 1.5 million women and men and provide 15,000 job opportunities.
Since the start of the pandemic, the ministry has organised regular multi-stakeholder platforms to coordinate efforts relating to food security, as well as discussing priority areas and the needed support.
Over the past decade, Egypt has seen a 40% increase in export revenues in vegetables, which has contributed to the country’s achieving several of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). This has mainly taken place through providing job opportunities, reducing inequality, and improving livelihoods.
