Focus on Seed Programs: The Seed Industry in Egypt

Abstract

Egypt is located between longitude 30°E and latitude 27°N. It is bordered by Libya in the west, Sudan in the south, the Red Sea in the East and the Mediterranean Sea in the north. The country has a total area of 1,001,450 sq km and a population of 70 million people, with an annual growth rate of 2%. Egypt has made tremendous progress in its overall economic and agricultural development in recent years.

The per capita income has increased over the years, but there is rapid population growth and high rural-to-urban migration, which undermines economic growth. In the 1980s, the GoE shifted from centralized state planning and control towards a free-market economy, adopting various reform programs. Since 1986/87, the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) took active measures in reforming the agricultural sector of the economy by liberalizing production, marketing, pricing, foreign trade and investment in agriculture.