Cairo — While Egypt’s uprising may not have given rural women a louder voice in the political arena, gradual change may be occurring at the grassroots.

In the ongoing political turmoil in Egypt, the question of what change the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak will bring about and to whom is still to be resolved.

For women, however, post-revolution Egypt seems to have been marked by marginalisation in the political arena. This is particularly true for rural women who are typically one of the groups furthest from power. But while rural women may not have yet been given much opportunity to voice their concerns at the highest levels of political power, slower and longer-term change may be in progress at the grassroots.

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Cairo — New breeds of fish that grow about 30 per cent faster than the most common commercial strains will boost food security and farmers’ earnings in Egypt and West Africa, according to researchers.

Through selective breeding programmes in Egypt and Ghana, two fast-growing strains of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), an economically important fish that is native to much of Africa, have been developed for farmers: the ‘Abbassa’ and ‘Akosombo’.

The Abbassa strain grows 28 per cent faster than the most commonly used commercial breed, according to Mohamed Fathy Osman, chairman of the General Authority for Fish Resources Development, part of Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.

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Cairo — Political tension in Egypt in the aftermath of the revolution which began nearly two years ago, has hit tourism, led to high food prices, and caused an economic slowdown which is raising food security concerns.

In 2012, Egypt was the world’s largest wheat importer, shipping in 11.5 million tons, and highlighting the gap between official food sustainability goals and reality.

“There is an urgent need to increase wheat productivity,” said Nagui Saeed, head of Egypt’s Wheat Producers’ Association – not just to conserve foreign currency but also to cater for Egypt’s growing population, which has nearly doubled in the last 30 years to 83 million.

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A new $3 million project that aims to improve food security and nutrition of women and young people in Egypt was announced today by FAO. The project is being financed by the government of Italy.

Unemployment rates for young people and women in Egypt are estimated at around 25percent, much higher than the national average of 10 percent. At the same time, health surveys in Egypt have shown that malnutrition is the root cause of over one third of sicknesses affecting children under the age of five.

The project aims to improve food and nutrition security through higher food production, nutrition education for women and young people and capacity building to strengthen national and decentralized institutions.

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Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture has approved the decisions made by the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) and Seed Registration Committee allowing the commercialization of a Bt corn variety.

This marks the first genetically modified (GM) crop approved for domestic planting in the country.

The approval is highlighted in a recent Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) report by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

During last year’s growing season, field trials were conducted and assessed. A local seed company, acting as an agent of a multi-national life science company, plans to import GM seeds for propagation and production from South Africa.

The GM corn will be planted in 10 governates throughout Egypt.

For more details: http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200804/146294295.pdf