NUWEIBA, South Sinai — The southern third of the Sinai Peninsula, once a tourist resort surrounded by stretches of dry, lifeless desert, is now dotted by world-class organic farms that continue to expand. Their healthy produce of vegetables and herbs caters to the demands of tourists and locals in the Red Sea towns of Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm El-Sheikh.

Maged El-Said, a tourism investor living and operating in South Sinai since 1989, decided to launch his organic farm in 2007. Despite raking in millions of dollars from the tourism sector, El-Said says that it wasn’t the suitable, sustainable investment and definitely not the environmentally friendly business he wishes to see flourishing in the Sinai.

“The Israelis, while occupying the Sinai, exported even flowers to the Netherlands. I asked myself, why aren’t we doing this?” El-Said told Al-Monitor, pointing at what is known as the Israeli Farm, a 400-acre agricultural estate that was built by the Israeli government during its occupation of the peninsula. Now, the irrigation system is disintegrating and thousands of trees are dying.

El-Said’s views, once perceived as sheer insanity, were proven right when Egypt’s multi-billion-dollar tourism sector landed on its knees and suffered more than 90% in losses after the Jan. 25, 2011 uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak and left the nation struggling with an unprecedented security vacuum and political strife.