Cairo, Egypt - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Egypt continues to deliver micro and small projects in 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.

FAO delegation met with Major General Gamal Nour El-Din, Governor of Assiut; Dr. Ahmed El Ansary, Governor of Sohag; Major General Said Hegazy, Deputy Governor of Aswan, and the delegation briefed them on FAO’s efforts via the project of improving nutrition and food security and its various components.

In the governorate of Assiut, village of Manshaat El Maasra, El-Fath Center, 25 women of the beneficiaries have received 4 goats per woman. This was done in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, in the presence of Ms. Fatema El-Khayat, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Solidarity in the governorate, Dr. Khaled El-Bakry, Director General of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, and officials from the local administration in the governorate.

In Aswan, 25 women, in Kalh El Gabal village in Edfo centre, have received 4 goats per woman, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity. In EL-Raghama village, in Kom Embo centrr, 30 women of the beneficiaries have received 30 projects for fattening goats and providing forage and that was in cooperation with Orman Association,. This took place in the presence of General Saied Hegazi, Deputy Governor of Aswan; Mohammed Al-Wakil, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Solidarity in Aswan; officials from the City Council of Edfu and Kom Ombo ; and representatives from Orman Association.

In coordination with the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS), field monitoring visits for the projects related to goat fattening, birds and goats rearing, eggs production, and food carts was carried out in the governorate of Sohag, in the villages of Swelam and Kom Badr with the beneficiaries being women.,

“FAO has made significant progress under the project “Improving Household Food and Nutrition Security in Egypt by Targeting Women and Youth", designed mainly to help women and youth eradicate malnutrition and food insecurity, as well as to improve their economic and living conditions. The project also aims at providing employment opportunities for youth in order to support the comprehensive and sustainable development process by 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.

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.

These small and micro projects include poultry farming, sheep rearing, calves fattening, and dairy processing, implemented in the governorates of Fayoum, Beni Sueif, and Aswan, in coordination with Orman Association. Moreover, in coordination with Misr El Kheir Foundation, goat rearing, fattening birds, and eggs production projects were implemented in the governorates of Beni Sueif, Assiut, and Sohag. In coordination with the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS), Agricultural (tomato cultivation) processing projects, in addition to goat and birds rearing projects have been delivered in Fayoum and Aswan governorates, 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.