Sama El Feky

The methods of agricultural production systems in Egypt By: Sama El Feky Even if they externally look identical, different products originally could be in fact complete opposites in taste and effect because of their production systems. Nowadays, the possible risk of ruining the products or the environment in general with pesticides and chemicals in Egypt is undoubtedly high. Hence, the need to use the correct agricultural method in order to produce the healthiest goods. Unfortunately it seems that Egyptians don’t have that mindset when they approach food. The first method is the intensive system, which actually takes a wide space in Egypt. It has little or no consideration to neither the environment nor the human health. Whether in plant or animal production, this intensive strategy is highly mechanized, depending mostly on the use of artificial fertilizers as well as pesticides. For plant production in Egypt, the use of genetic modified varieties and cultivars is intense in the hope of producing the maximum yield and achieving the highest productivity. This is allegedly non sustainable and destructive to the natural resources. While for the animal products in Egypt, the use of hormones and antibiotics in goods such as milk, meat, chicken, eggs and others is very common. That is incredibly negative as the injection of hormones, oxytocin or antibiotics could easily backfire. “They leave many harmful residues in milk and whatnot that cause the bacteria in human stomach to become more resistant to any sort of antibiotics,” said Ahmed Shawki, a Cairo University graduate from the faculty of agriculture who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in food science and technology. “Injecting chickens with hormones could cause impotency in men and increase the chances of breast cancer in women, feeding chickens on concentrates causes them to have meat which in result could increase the risk of inflammation in human beings,” added Shawki. The second method is the extensive system, which is mostly used in rural areas by few Egyptian farmers. They use simple agricultural input with little or no mechanization whatsoever. The drawback of this production system, however, is its very low productivity and profitability to the farmer. The third method is the organic farming, which is considered a recent concept applied in Egypt. The main goal is to clearly produce clean and organic products without the use of chemical or fertilizers, including organic fertilizers. The productivity for this system is not really the highest possible, like the intensive system for instance. Its productivity is considered higher though than the extensive system. “Little or half mechanized, eco friendly and doesn’t deteriorate the natural resources available, from my opinion, it is the best production system that respects the environment as well as the customer’s health,” said Maher Farid, Founder of Bio Shop which is one of the top shops in Egypt that sells organic products. “There could be more pure organic products in Egypt but it would cost so much so you have to set the right price to find your costumer,” continued Farid. The Modern farming system apparently should help with the issue of prices, as it is carried out by local means and international development organizations or bodies. Such developments aim to enhance the agricultural production in Egypt for small growers and help them to increase their productivity as well as profitability. That simply helps farmers to reach the market and sell their products at better prices for major factories and hypermarkets.