US Agency for International Development offers Egypt a grant of $245 million

The Egyptian government allocated $1 million to the reform programs of the agricultural policies and to increase crops through a 4-year effort.

The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Dr. Youssef Wali mentioned that the program will be financed through a $245 million grant offered by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the other ministries participating in the program--Planning and International Cooperation, the Public Works Sector, Trade and Supply, and Water Resources--will offer $45 million in the form of technical assistance to the program during its implementation.

The director of the Agricultural Researches Center and the director of the project Dr. Saad Nasar mentioned that the USAID will offer the first portion which is $50 million; $28 million was already paid and another $22 million will be paid in December. The grant is consists of 4 payments, the first being $50 million, and three other portions equal $65 million each, paid over three years.