Minister Farouk urges swift activation of Agricultural Solidarity Fund
Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, chaired Tuesday the second meeting of the Agricultural Solidarity Fund's Board of Directors to finalize the fund's strategic and operational framework. Discussions focused on internal regulations, organizational structure, and accelerating the fund's activation to support Egypt's agricultural sector.
Farouk emphasized the urgent need to operationalize the fund, positioning it as a key tool to protect small-scale farmers from environmental risks, enhance agricultural productivity, and boost rural incomes—cornerstones of Egypt's national food security strategy.
He stressed that the fund's strategic vision must align with Egypt's Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy 2030. Key goals include improving land and water productivity, ensuring food security for essential crops, increasing the competitiveness of local produce, enhancing the sector's investment climate, and raising rural living standards to combat poverty.
The minister highlighted the fund's potential to contribute to sustainable rural development through services such as crop insurance, low-interest financing via the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE) and the Agricultural Development Program, and access to comprehensive agricultural support packages.
Farouk called for a broad portfolio of insurance products to safeguard farmers from pests, disease outbreaks, and climate-related risks. He also underscored the need to raise awareness among farmers about available technical and financial tools, and to strengthen ties with cooperatives and agricultural unions through a nationwide outreach campaign.
He stressed the importance of aligning the fund's operations with existing ministry initiatives and national programs to ensure that smallholder farmers receive coordinated technical, financial, and insurance support.
Mohamed Zakaria, Executive Director of the Fund, outlined the core components of the fund's strategy. These include crop insurance for natural disasters, low-interest loans through partner financial institutions, capacity building, agricultural extension services, market access facilitation, engagement with cooperatives, water conservation initiatives, and robust monitoring and evaluation systems.
Zakaria confirmed that the fund's internal organizational structure has been completed. Coordination is currently underway with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and the Ministry of Finance to finalize its official registration. He also presented initial work plans, stakeholder contributions, targeted insurance services, and the natural hazards to be covered in the fund's first phase.
To expedite the launch, Minister Farouk directed the formation of three specialized committees to oversee the fund's final preparations. These committees will focus on strategy development, financial and administrative operations, and insurance product design.
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