From Farm To Fork: Improving food security in 3 Egypt governorates

The local markets in Egypt for agricultural produce are underdeveloped: farmers are not well organized and the sector relies heavily on the use of pesticides and fertilizer and lacks knowledge of more sustainable alternatives. 

The project will help to better organize the farmers in three Farmers Cooperatives (FC). These FCs will grow into strong independent organizations with management capacity and collective bargaining power to make and fulfil contracts with traders and processing industries, especially the companies that are partner in the project (Spice Kingdom and Egyptian Farmers). The two partner companies in the project will invest in infrastructure and processing equipment. Government agencies will work on better service delivery to smallholder farmers. 

The set-up of farmers markets is foreseen in urban centres of the three governorates with a variety of horticultural crops. Thereby, the project enables better delivery of more healthy fresh produce and shorter and more efficient value chains between producers and consumers. The two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are responsible for the training of the farmers (mainly CEOSS) and the management of the project (Oxfam Novib). The training aims to improve farming techniques by promoting the use of composting and manure, instead of chemical fertilizers and by introducing new crops and crop rotation.