Egypt country report

F. Al-Keraby
Animal Production Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre
Dokki, Egypt

Introduction

Egypt has a total area of about one million square kilometres, of which only 3% is used for agricultural production. The population is increasing at an annual rate of 2.5% and is expected to reach 70 million by the year 2000. Food consists predominantly of cereals—wheat, maize, rice and sorghum—which provide 72% of the energy and protein supplies. The per capita consumption of animal products is very low, approximately 16 g/day. Mean annual per capita consumption is 9.7 kg of red meat, 48 kg of milk, 6 kg of white meat, 4.9 kg of fish and 4 kg of eggs. The annual growth rate of animal production has remained around 4%. The continuing economic boom and an economic policy that favours consumers have greatly increased the standard of living of the population, particularly in the food sector. Over recent years, the demand for meat has grown and imports of meat have increased. Milk and meat prices have increased substantially. The government has committed itself to a phased withdrawal from direct intervention in the market, the abolition of government control of the prices of most products, and a gradual reduction in the number of public sector employees.

Land

Egypt is divided topographically into four regions: the Nile Valley and Delta, occupying 3.3% of the total area, the Western Desert 67.0%, the Eastern Desert 22.5%, and the Sinai Peninsula 7.2%. Ninety-seven per cent of the agricultural land lies within the Nile and Delta region, a third of it new land reclaimed since 1952. It is highly productive and ideally suited to intensive agriculture. Since 1887, the area of cultivation has increased by 49% and the population by 470%. With the continuing loss of agricultural land to urban encroachment and the limited water available for irrigation, any future growth in agricultural production will have to come from more efficient use of resources.

Water

Except for a small rainfed area along the north desert coast, crop production is dependent on water from the River Nile provided by the Aswan Dam, which amounts to 55 billion cubic metres annually. In addition, about 3 million cubic metres of groundwater are extracted annually from the Nile Valley and Delta, the Western Desert and Sinai, for agriculture and for municipal and industrial use. Average annual rainfall varies from almost zero at Aswan to 24 mm in Cairo and 192 mm on the north coast; it occurs mainly during a short period in winter. The harvesting of this rainwater is important for cultivation in rainfed areas.

Crops

Cotton, wheat, rice, maize and berseem, or Egyptian clover, account for 80% of crops. Wheat and berseem are the main winter crops; in summer, cotton and rice are important cash crops, and maize and sorghum the subsistence crops. Levels of production are relatively high, compared with countries with similar agroclimatic conditions, and yields have increased significantly in the last five years. There is considerable potential for growth, particularly in the approximately one million hectares of reclaimed land, which represent 25% of the total agricultural area.

Forage resources

The main winter and spring forage is berseem, while wheat straw, rice and concentrates are used in summer. The feed gap in 1992 was 3.1 million tonnes total digestible nutrients (TDN), and it is expected to increase to 4.5 million tonnes by the year 2000.

Livestock

Animal production in Egypt represents about 30% of total agricultural production. The majority of farms are family farms of less than one hectare, with mixed livestock and crop production. The average numbers of adult livestock per farm are 1.02 buffalo cows, 0.94 cows, 1.14 sheep and 1.06 goats.

There is a large ruminant population of 3 million buffaloes and 3.2 million cattle, providing 2.8 million tonnes of milk annually. In spite of a 3% annual increase in production, this meets only 72% of demand.

Water buffaloes are well adapted to the subtropical environment and account for 66% of the total national production of milk and 45% of the meat. Buffalo cows generally have a longer productive life than the native Baladi cows or Friesian cows. Under good management, milk production ranges between 1000 and 3000 kg per lactation, two to three times higher than that of native cows. They tend, however, to have lower rates of reproduction than dairy cattle. It is likely that these low rates could be improved through better nutrition, health care and management, rather than genetic manipulation.

Milk yield of the native Baladi cows is low, about 800 kg per lactation, and is used mainly for nursing the calf. Because of increased demand for milk, Friesian cattle were introduced to study their performance in local conditions and investigate the effects of cross-breeding on milk production. It was found that the cross-bred cows lactate longer and have a shorter dry period.

The 4.22 million sheep and 3.13 million goats in Egypt are raised mainly in three regions: the Nile Delta, Upper Egypt and in the desert rangelands, particularly in the north-west coastal zone. Production systems and breeds in the three zones are different. There are about one million sheep and 700,000 goats in the Nile Delta, where agriculture is very intensive. Sheep are raised either by small-scale farmers or in village flocks managed by shepherds, and goats are kept mainly as household dairy animals. There is scope in this region for intensive lamb production. In Upper Egypt, which is characterised by mild, dry winters and very hot summers, agriculture is less intensive. There are about 1.5 million sheep and 1.7 million goats, mainly in mixed flocks, with some goats kept as household animals. In the desert rangelands, 1.4 million sheep and goats are kept in extensive systems.

Sheep are mainly of the fat-tailed, coarse-wool Ossimi, Rahmani and Barki breeds, with the thin-tailed Seidi breed in the far south. The large, brown Rahmani are mainly kept in the north and middle Delta region; the Ossimi, which are probably descended from the Awassi, in the south Delta; and the lighter Barki breed in the north-west coastal area.

Goats are mainly hairy and of medium size, and they vary greatly in type and productivity. The Egyptian Nubian, or Zaraibi, goat, which is kept in the north Delta, is believed to be the ancestor of the Anglo-Nubian.

There are also 131,000 camels and 1.35 million donkeys and horses.

Constraints on livestock production

The main constraints on production are the shortage of local feed resources, particularly in summer, limited water and cultivable land, and the poor quality of local breeds of livestock.

Research issues

Research is needed on the following: