Egypt, China ink deal to develop drought and salt-tolerant crops

Both Egypt and China’s ministers of Agriculture signed Wednesday August 16 to collaborate on developing drought and salt-tolerant crops to overcome water scarcity and salinity in Egypt as the country confronts the major impacts of climate change, “Ahram Online” reports.
Egypt’s El-Sayed El-Quseir and his Chinese counterpart Tang Renjian signed the agreement which the Egyptian agriculture ministry argues is part of a three-year action plan for agricultural cooperation (2023-2025) between the two countries.
The plan, the ministry adds, aims at boosting dialogue and exchanging expertise on agricultural innovation, including modern water-guided technologies, organic and biodynamic farming, and combating pests and plant diseases using environmentally friendly biopesticides.
It equally seeks to exchange expertise in hybrid rice, corn, and soybean cultivation. It, in addition, the ministry also stresses, will include collaborating in the field of animal production and agricultural mechanization, training and capacity building through a joint agricultural technical committee.