Best Practices for Organic Policy - What developing country - UNEP

Agriculture conditions
Annex 4. Egypt
The main economic activity in Egypt is agriculture, with 35 per cent of the manpower employed.
Until the 1980s, the Government (Ministry of Agriculture) was responsible for the whole sector,
including policies, cultivation plan, rotation and marketing. Nowadays, the agricultural sector is
privatized and the Government is only responsible for research, extension and general policies. Egypt
has three different agricultural zones, all of them subtropical. The first is the Delta area in the north,
where crops such as wheat, barley and potatoes are grown in the winter, cotton, rice and sunflowers in
the summer. The second zone is the middle, where wheat, different vegetables and medicinal plants
such as chamomile, marjoram, and fennel are cultivated in the winter and cotton, sesame, corn and
sunflowers in the summer. The third zone is Upper Egypt, or the southern part of Egypt, where
onions, garlic and vegetables are grown in winter and corn and sesame in the summer. There is almost
no rain in the middle and southern Egypt. Between 90 and 95 per cent of farmland is managed by
smallholders; the reminder, especially in the newly reclaimed area, is under the control of large estates
involved in the export sector.
Organic agriculture
Certified organic agriculture started in Egypt in 1976 on 17 hectares in the farm of SEKEM, to
produce herbs and essential oils for export. Expansion was quite slow until 1988. Thereafter, a rapid
growth occurred in the biodynamic production of vegetables, cereals and cotton, in addition to
medicinal plants. In 1996, the Egyptian Bio-Dynamic Association was established and in 1998 the
union of growers and exporters of organic and biodynamic agriculture was established. Members of
these associations produce and trade in organic products. Soon thereafter, many large companies were
established. The organic movement was also spread among small farmers.
The total organically cultivated area is currently 25,150 ha and organic agriculture represents
0.08 per cent of agricultural lands. The number of registered companies dealing with organic
agriculture (processors and/or exporters) is 94. A large number of crops are now produced organically
such as:
• Vegetables: potatoes, onions, garlic, beans, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, melons,
strawberries, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, squash, iceberg lettuce, carrots and peas;
• Fruits: grapes, apricots, peaches, apples, lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins, pears,
pomegranates and mangoes;
• Fibre and field crops: cotton, peanuts, sesame and flax; and
• Medicinal and ornamental plants: marjoram, caraway, anise, calendula, spearmint,
peppermint, basil, thyme, hibiscus, cumin, celery, parsley, dill, leeks, geraniums, fennel,
lemongrass, coriander and chamomile.
Organic markets
Total exports are estimated at 15,542 tons (vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants, etc.) representing 50 to
60 per cent of production. The other portion of organic products (40 to 50 per cent) is sold in local
markets. Organic herbal teas, packed in tea bags, are consumed a great deal in the local market.
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