RIYADH: As the global price of wheat is surging, the Egyptian government has ordered farmers to deliver a minimum ratio of the grain to the government to participate in the country’s bread-subsidy program.
Egypt offering incentives to farmers
According to Bloomberg, the government is offering incentives to farmers to produce wheat and also setting an output quota to tackle the shortage of the grain primarily driven due to the ongoing tensions in Ukraine.
Farmers will not be allowed to sell the rest of their crops outside the official procurement system without a license.
Egypt is one of the biggest importers of wheat in the world, and most of the grains come from Ukraine and Russia.
After Russia started invading Ukraine wheat prices soared, and the Egyptian government is seeking to maintain price stability and secure reserves of basic foodstuffs amid the fallout from the war.
African Development Bank to host an investment forum
Meanwhile, the African Development Bank, the biggest lender in the continent, is planning to host an investment forum aimed at raising $1 billion to help 40 million African farmers utilize climate-resilient technologies and increase their output of heat-tolerant wheat varieties and other crops, according to Akinwumi Adesina, the bank's president.
“If there was ever a time that we needed to really drastically raise food production in Africa, for Africa’s food security and to mitigate the impact of this food crisis arising from this war, it is now,” said Adesina.
