Renowned economist Gouda Abdel-Khalek
Speaking in a session on the role of the state in developing the agriculture sector in the National Dialogue, Abdel-Khalek, a former supply minister, urged the government to replace the current system with one that incentivizes farmers and boost agricultural production to achieve food security.
The state periodically mandates farmers to supply parts of certain strategic crops such as wheat and rice at set prices, which some farmers and experts criticize as below market value.
However, in the last two years, the state has attempted to incentivize farmers by raising prices for mandatorily procured crops.
For example, in April of this year, the government announced a 20 percent increase in the price of wheat mandatorily procured by farmers in the upcoming harvest season.
Other participants in the session echoed Abdel-Khalek’s call, urging the government to provide more financial aid to incentivize farmers to increase their production in order to achieve food security amid disruptions in global supply chains and a global economic crisis.
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