11/25/2016 0 Comments Organic Farming in EgyptNowadays, the possible risk of ruining the environment with pesticides and chemicals in Egypt is undoubtedly high. While products might externally seem identical, their production systems will more than likely vary from each other. The quality, taste and effect of the goods could determine whether a person will live a long healthy life or a short one. Hence, the need to use the correct “agricultural method” for the best outcome. “Agricultural methods” refer to the different ways that farmers produce goods. There are three methods that are mainly applied in Egypt.
The first method is the intensive system, which is perhaps the most used by farmers in Egypt. This system highly depends on the use of chemicals to increase the amount of yield. While it demands large labor and capital inputs for farming, the intensive method will require less land than any other method to gain a similar profit. It has little or no consideration to either the environment or the human health. The production greatly depends on the use of artificial fertilizers as well as pesticides which can be seriously dangerous to the human body. The use of hormones and antibiotics in animal products such as chicken is very common in Egypt. However, It is best to avoid the injection of hormones, oxytocin or antibiotics as they could easily lead to some negative repercussions. Ahmed Shawki, a Cairo University graduate from the faculty of agriculture who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in food science and technology, shared how injecting chemicals into animals can quickly backfire. “They leave many harmful residues in milk and whatnot that cause the bacteria in human stomach to become more resistant to any sort of antibiotics,” said Shawki. “Injecting chickens with hormones could cause impotency in men and increase the chances of breast cancer in women, feeding chickens on concentrates causes them to have meat which in result could increase the risk of inflammation in humans,” he continued. The extensive system is the second method of farming in Egypt. It is mostly used in rural areas by a few Egyptian farmers. As opposed to the intensive system, the extensive one uses small inputs of fertilizers, labor and capital. The drawback of this production system, however, is its very low productivity and profitability to the farmer. The third and final method is the organic farming, which is considered a recent concept implemented in Egypt. The main goal is to clearly produce clean and organic products without the use of chemical or fertilizers, including organic fertilizers. The productivity for this system is not really the highest possible, like the intensive system for instance. Its productivity is considered higher though than the extensive system. Louay El Kot is the co-founder of Offah.com, an online website that sells organic products. Some of Offah’s suppliers are Health Harvest, Sarah’s Organic Food and Egyptian Hydrofarms. As he is also a farmer, Louay’s main responsibility is to meet with other farmers and decided whether they safely use the correct production method or not before any agreement is made. “When we compare it to conventional, organic farmers, they cannot use any kinds of pesticides, they can’t use chemicals that are harmful to the environment or to the human,” said Louay. “And that’s why when we talk about organic farming, we talk about a very low production, usually compared to conventional production,” he added. Organic agriculture is clearly a growing business with great long-term effects. It began in Egypt around 20 years ago to alleviate the increasing threat of chemical poisoning to Egyptian farmers. Over the years, Egypt has improved its agriculture system by implementing more of the organic production instead of the conventional one. The Center of Organic Agriculture in Egypt, which was founded in 1990, provides organic training and consultation. The center is even recognized by the European Union as a certification leader for organic in Egypt. The organic industry is progressing slowly in the country, despite the lack of public awareness and support from the Egyptian government.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |