Mohamed Abu al-Wafa Roushdy, of Egypt's Union of Farmers, said that the country's problem with power outages could lead to the destruction of agricultural land, particularly that equipped with sprinklers or drip irrigation, and called for the crisis, which has already significantly reduced the proportion of agricultural land, to be promptly resolved.
Abu al-Wafa stated that Egypt could suffer a national disaster that may affect productivity and lead to higher crop prices due to increased demand and limited production.
Abdul Hai Hussein, a prominent grower in Qena, confirmed that powers cuts frequently affect many agricultural areas in Egypt, and that the problem adds to the previous crises caused by fuel, gas and fertiliser shortages.
For his part, Nader Noureddine, agricultural expert, pointed out that growers in Medinet El-Nubariya, which is the main source of fruit and vegetables for Cairo and Alexandria, are affected by the electricity problem and this could lead to significant crop shortages, likely to cause a great increase in fruit and vegetable prices, especially for summer crops.
Source: misr5.com
