Cairo, Egypt - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS) signed the project document entitled “Improving Livelihoods, Nutrition and Empowerment for Rural Women and Their Families in Minya Governorate” funded by the Global Canadian Affairs, in order to ensure equitable access to gender-sensitive and nutritious food for ten of the “poorest” villages In Minya Governorate affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project, which is in line with "FORSA" and "Hayah Karima" programs of the Ministry of Social Solidarity, provides an opportunity for 2,000 rural women of different age and socio-economic groups, their families and their communities, to apply the best systems for climate-smart farming, post-harvest management practices and principles of good agricultural practices.

The project also provides technical and financial support for establishing / strengthening small businesses in the agricultural and food fields within the horticultural value chain, with a focus on smallholder, landless and unemployed women farmers from the poorest villages in Minya Governorate.

The project document was signed at the headquarters of MoSS in presence of Her Excellency Dr. Nevine Al-Kabbag, Minister of Social Solidarity, AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, Nasredin Hag Elamin - FAO Representative in Egypt, HE Louis Dumas - Canadian Ambassador in Egypt, Mohamed Yacoub - Assistant FAO Representative in Egypt, Ms. Eman Omran, Director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Team in Global Canadian Affairs, and a number of senior officials in the entities participating in the project.

The project, implemented in 10 villages / 4 centers in Minya governorate for a period of 18 months, aims to contribute in reducing poverty, improving food security and nutrition, and earning livelihoods for rural women of different age, social and economic groups, with a focus on families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to targeting female farmers from Smallholders and unemployed women from the poorest villages in Minya Governorate.

Her Excellency, Dr. Nevine Al-Kabbag, stated that the project will provide technical and financial support in order to strengthen small companies in the areas of food processing and value chains for horticultural products. Also, the application of the best climate-smart agricultural systems and practices of sound agricultural practices principles will be taken into account.

It is also important to mention that the project is in line with several policies adopted by Egypt at the present time; such as the presidential program for the development of Egyptian villages "Hayah Karima" and the strategy to develop the green economy, improve food security, and expand the employment of women. In addition to revitalizing the local economy, especially micro-enterprises.

H.E pointed out that the expansion of the establishment of nurseries in these targeted areas to host and develop children under 4 years old will provide opportunities for women to work. In addition to the Ministry’s efforts in providing a mixture of integrated services with each other, as a package of services will be provided to the owners of the targeted projects, such as providing reproductive health services and using a means of organizing Free families, and the literacy program for one million female citizens, noting that the illiteracy rate in the countryside has reached 31%, and the unemployment rate among rural women has reached more than 29%, most of whom work in marginal jobs and do not enjoy insurance or health protection.

“The project is in line with the FAO's socio-economic plan to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically reducing risks and mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on food security, environmental sustainability, management of human settlements and natural resources. In addition to supporting the continuation of Women and girls' access to services and economic opportunities,” said Elwaer.

“At the same time, these policies are also in line with FAO Global Programme, specifically, Economic Inclusion and Social Protection for Poverty Reduction, which aims to revitalize responses to COVID-19 for the benefit of the poor in order to achieve a comprehensive socio-economic recovery after the pandemic; as well as revitalizing the resilience of smallholders to recover,” he added.

"The cooperation between FAO and the Egyptian government through this project, which is funded by the Canadian Global Affairs, aims in addressing the challenges of reducing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic throughout food supply chains, as the project highlights the participation of women/smallholder farmers and unemployed rural women in its activities through increasing their participation in the food and agricultural sector,” stated Hag Elamin.

FAO will work with MoALR, MoSS, the Agricultural Cooperatives, farmers' associations and formal and informal institutions in rural areas to implement strategic changes and stimulate investment, given its importance for production in Egypt.

In this context, the project will benefit from the knowledge and expertise possessed by FAO to empower smallholder farmers and unemployed workers, with a particular focus on women, to obtain the skills, inputs and infrastructure needed to improve the productivity and profitability of agriculture and to produce healthier and safer food and achieve sustainable use of land and water resources, linking up with the rest of the value chain actors, such as suppliers, traders, processors, wholesalers and retailers.

"The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic have affected vulnerable groups, including smallholder farmers, seasonal agricultural workers, women-headed households and rural communities in general. This prompted the Global Canadian Affairs to intervene through this project to provide support to the Egyptian government and enable it to confront the pandemic crisis, as part of the Egyptian efforts and measures to mitigate the crises impact, while achieving a balance between protecting public health and continuing economic activities,” Louis Dumas, Canadian Ambassador in Egypt, said.

The project includes the following five elements:

1. Assessment of food security and livelihood needs and selection of project beneficiaries (with full participation of women focus groups);
2. Sustainably improving horticultural productivity through the promotion of climate-smart and environment-based agriculture, post-harvest management and good agricultural practices.
3. Empowering landless and unemployed rural women to generate income for their families by establishing micro-food and agricultural activities.
4. The creation of small companies based on individuals or small groups in the field of food and agriculture, to manufacture surplus horticultural production and create opportunities for unemployed women.
5. Raising awareness about nutritious food and healthy eating patterns.

The Egyptian government introduced an initiative to identify and target one thousand of the poorest villages in the country based on the latest numbers issued by the poverty map from the survey of household income, expenditure and consumption in 2017/2018. The results showed that two-thirds of the poorest villages fall into four Governorates in Upper Egypt, which are Assiut, Minya, Qena and Suhag. More than 80 percent of all villages and two-thirds of their population are classified as "poor".

Minya governorate was chosen as a target area for the project, due to its importance to agricultural production at the national level, its richness in natural resources, its relative proximity to the Greater Cairo markets, compared to other Upper Egypt governorates, and the integration it represents with other ongoing projects of FAO in the same governorate in order to promote the Farm Field Schools approach, to achieve participatory extension and income for the rural population.