Cairo, Egypt - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Egypt delivered 685 micro and small projects in five Egyptian governorates under the framework of the project “Improving Household Food and Nutrition Security in Egypt by Targeting Women and Youth", implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and Financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

These projects depend on the principle of revolving loans, they vary between poultry farming projects and goat and sheep rearing projects. They also provide the necessary forage, and veterinary care, along with the needed technical support for the participants in the project. Other types of projects involve agricultural projects and delivering 30 food carts for beneficiaries from the five governorates.

By delivering this batch of projects, FAO would have delivered around 900 projects out of a total of 1500 projects with a total cost of 17.5 million Egyptian pounds. 300 projects were dedicated for each of the five governorates benefiting from the nutrition project: El Fayoum, Beni Suef, Assiut, Sohag and Aswan, and a total cost of 17.5 million Egyptian pounds. FAO has delivered over 160 projects in these governorates in previous stages.

Such small and micro projects include poultry farming, sheep rearing, and dairy processing, implemented in the governorates of Fayoum, Bani-Swif, and Aswan, in coordination with Orman Association. Moreover, in coordination with Misr El Kheir Foundation, goat rearing projects were implemented in Assiut governorate. Projects related to fattening birds and egg production were implemented in Sohag governorate. In coordination with the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS), different agricultural projects were delivered along with 30 food carts in the five governorates. It is worth noting that FAO is following up on the beneficiaries of these projects through civil organizations in order to provide them with forage and veterinary care, and help them to market their products.

“Upon delivering this project phase, FAO has made a significant progress in achieving the target number of 1500 micro and small projects, designed mainly to help women and youth eradicate malnutrition and food insecurity, as well as to improve their economic and living conditions. These also aim at providing employment opportunities for youth in order to support the inclusive and sustainable development process, through realizing the second goal of the UN sustainable development goals, which is “Zero Hunger,” said Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in Egypt.

“FAO has taken into consideration the beneficiaries of these projects, by providing revolving loans for the establishment of small food projects that generate income and improve nutrition. The beneficiaries of the project only pay 40% of the value of interest-free loans to be used to finance other projects,” Hussein Gadain continued to add.

The project is designed to improve the food and nutrition security of the vulnerable by improving the skills of women and youth in food production, small animal husbandry, and other entrepreneurial activities. It also focuses on awareness raising by increasing the beneficiaries’ level of knowledge about nutrition through education and behaviour change. The project revolves around three main strategies: nutritional and healthy behaviour through education and engagement, household food production and income-generating activities and capacity building to improve household food and nutrition security.