Sunflowers change farmers' fortunes in central Egypt city
Sunflower growing in the central Egyptian province of Fayoum brings economic hope to farmers and contributes to reducing an exorbitant vegetable oil import bill.
CAIRO — Farmer Saeed Saber's financial prospects had been worrisome in the past. However, a few months ago, his neighbor advised him to scrap rice and grow sunflowers instead in his 10-acre farm in the central province of Fayoum, 116 kilometers (72 miles) southwest of the capital Cairo.
Almost 2½ months after sowing the first sunflower seeds, Saber's economic fortunes are changing rapidly.
"The sunflowers are changing my life and the lives of all the farmers growing this crop," Saber told Al-Monitor. "The flowers are bringing in a lot of money."
Sunflower growing is changing the fortunes of farmers in Fayoum, bringing hope to the agricultural sector in the city and creating employment for thousands of farmland workers who were about to desert farming altogether.
