Egypt’s planning ministry has said that EGP 1.545 billion have been allocated for the agriculture ministry's investments under the country's 2019-2020 plan.

In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said that realising food security and self-sufficiency in strategic commodities is a top priority.

The statement added that the ministry plans to up Gross Domestic Product – which reached about 3.5 percent in the first half of 2018/19 – to 3.7 percent by the end of the year.

The statement also said that agro-exports are expected to go up 5 percent in 2018-2019/2019-2020, noting that the government is seeking to develop small and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural sector to secure jobs and raise standards of living in rural areas.

The agricultural sector's contribution to the economic growth rate reached about 6.3 percent in the third quarter of 2018/19 against 5.7 percent in the corresponding period in 2017/18.

The statement added that there are plans to develop the Halayeb and Shalateen area with EGP 20 million in addition to upgrading the land tenure data base with EGP 30 million.

The ministry added that EGP 50 million was earmarked for improving soil for harvests.