Egypt farmers call for aid, threaten strike
Egyptian farmers are threatening to halt cultivation of certain crops to call attention to the need for state action to support and protect the industry.
CAIRO — Despite President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s directives to support Egyptian farmers and help them cope with the difficulties they face, farmers have been taken aback by higher prices in energy, fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, the lack of water for irrigation in some provinces has caused prices of agricultural products to rise.
However, the farmers’ hardships do not end with production, but also extend to the market, where staple crops such as rice, cotton and wheat have suffered heavy losses. Many farmers groups — such as the Farmers and Agricultural Producers Syndicate, the Farmers Syndicate, the General Assembly for Agrarian Reform and the General Assembly for New Land Reclamation — have vowed to take action against the government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, accusing it of working against the farmers’ interests, which violates the constitution.
Farid Wassel, head of the Farmers and Agricultural Producers Syndicate, told Al-Monitor, “Following the rise in prices of fertilizers, we held a press conference at the Press Syndicate to announce our escalatory steps against the government. However, following the painful incident in Sinai, where 30 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 20 others were injured — most of whom belong to families of farmers — we canceled it to mourn their souls.”
Wassel added that farmers are facing a great many challenges. “Although food is a national security issue, we do not wish to escalate the situation to the extent of stopping farming and starving people. However, we are bearing many burdens, starting with the high prices of energy and fertilizers, not to mention the taxes we have to pay. This would push farmers to stop working involuntarily, as they do not have the means to face all these hardships and cannot market their products at good prices,” he said.
