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Organic Farming In Egypt
Vitality of the Sun - Organic Agriculture in Egypt
January 31, 2008 · Filed under Agriculture & Food by Joe Turner
Editor’s Note: Joe Turner, our newest writer, is based in the UK, and has a strong background in soil science, green clothing, fair trade and more. Joe is off to a great start with this interesting profile of a very successful project in Egypt. Welcome Joe!
How does sustainable agriculture look in developing countries? Do local people actually see any benefits or is it all a fad to meet the demand for organic food in western countries?
Last year I went to Egypt to find out. I went to visit Sekem, a 300 hectare farm near Cairo airport.
The story goes that Dr Ibrahim Abouleish, a wealthy Egyptian pharmacologist, spent most of his early life abroad and was visiting Egypt in 1975 having made a successful career in pharmaceutical research. He was amazed at the poverty and saw how problems of education, unemployment and health were entrenched in Egyptian society.
Leaving his profession, he set about building a better world in a little part of Egypt. In 2003 Dr Abouleish was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes also called the Alternative Nobel Prize.
“SEKEM is establishing the blueprint for the healthy corporation of the 21st century. Taking its name from the hieroglyphic transcription meaning “vitality of the sun”, SEKEM was the first entity to develop biodynamic farming methods in Egypt. These methods are based on the premise that organic cultivation improves agro-biodiversity and does not produce any unusable waste. All products of the system can be either sold or re-used in cultivation, thereby creating a sustainable process.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, SEKEM deployed a new system of plant protection in cotton, which led to a ban of crop dusting throughout Egypt. By 2000, according to UN and FAO reports, pesticide use in Egyptian cotton fields had fallen by over 90%, while prior to the ban 35,000 tons of chemical pesticides were sprayed yearly. Furthermore nearly 80% of Egyptian cotton was being grown organically and average annual yields had increased by nearly 30%.” — Right Livelihood Award 2003
Dr Abouleish founded and continues to provide inspiration and enthusiasm to a movement which attempts to meet all of the needs of the Egyptians that live and work at Sekem. The farm grows soft fruits which are then made into juice and herbs which are used to produce inexpensive herbal remedies. In the middle of the farm is a clothing factory - perhaps the oddest location for a factory anywhere in the world. Clothing is produced using cotton produced by a network of organic and fair trade cotton farmers they have established throughout Egypt.
Rest here:Organic Farming in Egypt
January 31, 2008 · Filed under Agriculture & Food by Joe Turner
Editor’s Note: Joe Turner, our newest writer, is based in the UK, and has a strong background in soil science, green clothing, fair trade and more. Joe is off to a great start with this interesting profile of a very successful project in Egypt. Welcome Joe!
How does sustainable agriculture look in developing countries? Do local people actually see any benefits or is it all a fad to meet the demand for organic food in western countries?
Last year I went to Egypt to find out. I went to visit Sekem, a 300 hectare farm near Cairo airport.
The story goes that Dr Ibrahim Abouleish, a wealthy Egyptian pharmacologist, spent most of his early life abroad and was visiting Egypt in 1975 having made a successful career in pharmaceutical research. He was amazed at the poverty and saw how problems of education, unemployment and health were entrenched in Egyptian society.
Leaving his profession, he set about building a better world in a little part of Egypt. In 2003 Dr Abouleish was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes also called the Alternative Nobel Prize.
“SEKEM is establishing the blueprint for the healthy corporation of the 21st century. Taking its name from the hieroglyphic transcription meaning “vitality of the sun”, SEKEM was the first entity to develop biodynamic farming methods in Egypt. These methods are based on the premise that organic cultivation improves agro-biodiversity and does not produce any unusable waste. All products of the system can be either sold or re-used in cultivation, thereby creating a sustainable process.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, SEKEM deployed a new system of plant protection in cotton, which led to a ban of crop dusting throughout Egypt. By 2000, according to UN and FAO reports, pesticide use in Egyptian cotton fields had fallen by over 90%, while prior to the ban 35,000 tons of chemical pesticides were sprayed yearly. Furthermore nearly 80% of Egyptian cotton was being grown organically and average annual yields had increased by nearly 30%.” — Right Livelihood Award 2003
Dr Abouleish founded and continues to provide inspiration and enthusiasm to a movement which attempts to meet all of the needs of the Egyptians that live and work at Sekem. The farm grows soft fruits which are then made into juice and herbs which are used to produce inexpensive herbal remedies. In the middle of the farm is a clothing factory - perhaps the oddest location for a factory anywhere in the world. Clothing is produced using cotton produced by a network of organic and fair trade cotton farmers they have established throughout Egypt.
Rest here:Organic Farming in Egypt