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Agriculture in North Africa

  • Will Saudi agricultural investments in Sudan leave Egypt high and dry?

    EGYPT, 2016/01/11 Riyadh has been encouraging Saudi investors to pump additional money into Sudan in conjunction with Sudan’s participation in the Saudi-led intervention against the Houthis in Yemen. From presently on internal reports prepared by Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry, along with the Agriculture and Land Reclamation Ministry, confirm that Sudan is by presently using its entire allotment of Nile water, according to a government official briefed on the issue who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.
  • Morocco’s Sugar Production Exceeds 1.65 Million Tons Per Year

    MOROCCO, 2015/09/20 Morocco has made a great effort over the completed three years to guarantee its domestic sugar needs by increasing the in general production capacity to 1.65 million tons annually, Mounir Hassan, an official from Morocco’s Inter-Professional Federation of Sugar (FIMASUCRE), announced during the International Sugar Conference in Marrakesh. Morocco’s current annual production of sugar covers the country’s annual consumption of around 1.2 million tons.
  • Morocco in Africa - Delivering the Bread Basket

    CASABLANCA, 2015/08/24 Recent articles underscore the importance of Morocco's initiatives in West and Central Africa, specifically in the agricultural sector. In a World Bank blog, Jean-Christophe Maur, a Senior Economist in the Increase and Competitiveness Program at the World Bank Institute, argues that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which enjoys a strong working relationship with Morocco, must do additional to promote regional solutions. His blog, Feeding West Africa: An Schedule for Regional Trade, points out that "In West Africa, home of nearly 300 million people, agriculture employs 60% of the labor force. However, despite great potential, the region is increasingly dependent on food imports to meet its consumption needs; food imports have additional than tripled in the completed 10 years." This fact alone emphasizes the importance of King Mohammed VI's initiatives to enhance agricultural cooperation with ECOWAS states (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Niger) inclunding neighbors throughout Central and West Africa. Over the completed three years, he has visited additional than a dozen African nations, and signed agreements related to agriculture and human development that include Moroccan services and resources integral to a regional strategy of collaboration.
  • A girl farms the land during the rainy season outside Gereida, Sudan

    EGYPT, 2015/08/08 The countries covered by the Egyptian project for foreign agriculture have an abundance and diversity of water sources, but declining agricultural development due to lack of funding and agricultural machinery. In Sudan, which has a surface area of ​​1.8 million square kilometers (445 million acres), cultivated areas do not exceed 45 million acres, according to the latest statistics by the Central Bank of Sudan. That is about a fifth of the country’s arable area, estimated at 200 million acres.
  • Egypt, Saudi Arabia Agree On Increasing Agricultural Investments

    EGYPT, 2015/04/25 Egypt and Saudi Arabia agreed on increasing the Saudi investments in Egypt so as to remove the obstacles in front of activating the Arab investments particularly in the field of agriculture. It was as well agreed to form a technical committee to inspect the investment sites and prepare full studies about the soil, water and atmosphere around the year inclunding the uses of the new and renewable energies. These remarks came during discussion session held in Cairo between the Egyptian Agriculture Minister Salah Helal and his Saudi counterpart Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen al Fadhli and his accompanying delegation.
  • Algeria: Cereal Imports Increase By Nearly U.S.$3.3 Billion in First 11 Months of 2014

    ALGERIA, 2015/01/16 imports of cereals (wheat, barley and maize) reached $3.29 billion during the initial 11 months of 2014 against $2.92 billion in the same period of 2013, down 12.52%, Algerian Customs told Tuesday APS. The quantities of imported cereals recorded an upward trend to reach 24.4% with 11.35 million tonnes of the cereals purchased between January and November 2014, against 9.13 million tonnes during the same period of 2013. The import bill of cereals in the initial 11 months of 2014 has by presently exceeded that of all the year 2013, during which Algeria imported $3.16 billion of these foodstuffs.
  • What is the possibility of Sudan one day becoming the breadbasket of the Arab world?

    SUDAN, 2015/01/08 There are an estimated 200 million acres of land in Sudan, 70% of which is not being utilized. This is why the Government has identified the agriculture and livestock sector as being one of the majority significant sectors, and it is playing a vital role in food security and employment opportunities and is making a direct contribution to poverty and social development. It by presently employs 80% of the Sudanese workforce, and accounts for almost 40% of GDP. One of the biggest players in the agriculture in Sudan is Kenana Sugar Company. Managing Director Mohamed Elmardi Eltigani speaks to AFA Press about the agriculture industry, Kenana and its entry into the bionenergy field, and the company’s admirable CSR work
  • FAO body empowered to fight illegal fishing

    EUROPE, 2014/05/25 The European Commission welcomed key reform making the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) a modern, competent and effective body overseeing sustainable fishing and the conservation of fish stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The GFCM is a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization body whose role is to protect fish stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The agreement reached in Rome on Tuesday is in line with the new EU Common Fisheries Policy and provides the organisation the tools to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries. The reformed GFCM will establish common standard and rules, setting a level playing field in the region. It will as well strengthen cooperation between GFCM Members for the sustainable management of the fish stocks they share, and will encourage fishermen to be additional involved in the conservation of the fish that are their livelihood.
  • Africa-led fund designed to improve food security across the continent

    CENTRAL AFRICA REPUBLIC, 2014/03/31 A incomparable, Africa-led fund designed to improve food security across the continent has become a reality for the initial six nations slated to benefit from the initiative. The Central African Republic (CAR), Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Niger and South Sudan signed agreements in Tunis with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to receive US$ 2 million each from the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund. 'The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund shows that African nations are ready to step up and work with their neighbours to build a sustainable and food fasten region, and to have the next we want,' said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. The agreements were signed during the FAO Regional Conference for Africa.
  • Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva.

    TUNISIA, 2014/03/31 The prospects for cooperation between Tunisia and FAO were the major top for discussion Friday between the Tunisian President, Muncef Marzouki, and the Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva. They as well discussed the outcomes of the 28th FAO Regional Conference held in Tunis from 24 to 28 March. During this conference, the Tunisian president reiterated his readiness to strengthen the partnership between his country and the FAO and his desire to share the institution’s experience in the context of the execution of a number of agricultural projects aimed at ensuring food security