Economic and food security benefits associated with raised-bed wheat production in Egypt
Citation
Jeff Alwang, Sami Sabry, Kamel Shideed, Atef Swelam, Habib Halila. (9/5/2018). Economic and food security benefits associated with raised-bed wheat production in Egypt. Food Security, 10 (49), pp. 1-13.
Abstract
Countries in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region are dependent on imports of wheat to meet their food security
needs. Mechanized raised-bed wheat production is an effective means of increasing productivity and saving scarce water, but the
technology needs substantial adaptation to local conditions. This paper estimates the economic benefits from a long-term
adaptive research project designed to adapt and promote mechanical raised-bed wheat production in Egypt. The technology
itself is associated with a 25% increase in productivity due to higher yields, 50% lower seed costs, a 25% reduction in water use,
and lower labor costs. The mechanical raised-bed program is now a component of Egypt’s national wheat campaign and it is
estimated that by 2023 approximately 800,000 ha of wheat will be planted with the technology. This paper estimates that over a
15 year project horizon, the benefits will exceed US$ 4 billion, with most of the benefits accruing to more than one million
Egyptian wheat producers. Other benefits include reduced wheat imports (by more than 50% by 2025), reduced dependence on
international commodity markets and increased productivity on more than 200,000 ha of water-starved lands.
DSpace URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/8228Other URI
https://mel.cgiar.org/dspace/limitedCollections
Author(s) ORCID(s)
Shideed, Kamelhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2822-1097
Swelam, Atefhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5220-9901
Subject(s)
AGROVOC Keywords
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