13 COMESEA countries seek Egypt's help in setting up research Farms

Thirteen members of the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are seeking to benefit from Egypt's expertise in the domain of model research and experimental farms.

In statements Monday on the fringe of COMESA current meeting in Cairo, Deputy Premier and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Youssef Wali said that a memo has been sent to Foreign Minister Amr Moussa on the projects his ministry can help establish in the 13 COMESA countries as part of an agricultural cooperation protocol concluded between Egypt and the African group.

According to Wali, the cooperation programs provide for accessing Egyptian University graduates and small investors to agricultural lands in COMESA countries, with the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture taking care of the financial side through an Egyptian fund for technical cooperation with African countries. Also the Egyptian Social Fund for Development (SFD) would provide soft loans.

Dr. Saad Nassar, head of the Agricultural Research Center and representative of the Ministry of Agriculture at COMESA meetings, said COMESA countries combined have a wealth of some 68 million hectares of good soil, or five per cent of the world's cultivable land.

Under the cooperation programs between Egypt and other COMESA members, Egypt provides training for personnel from the group in the fields of agricultural development and livestock breeding, Nassar said.

Egypt seeks to boost agricultural relations with the other 20 COMESA, countries which together house a 380-million-strong population and have a combined GDP of some $ 166 billion and a foreign trade volume of about $ 69 billion.