Egypt plans to set up wheat farms in Uganda

The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation is planning to set up model wheat farms in Uganda in a bid to boost production of the grain, the New Vision reported Wednesday (May 20).

The state-owned daily said that a technical team from Egypt and Uganda last year finalized a feasibility study on large-scale wheat production in Uganda. During the study, the team assessed the suitability of wheat production and exports.

In September last year, the Egyptian government said that it had been allocated up to 2 million acres of land in Uganda to grow wheat and corn for its domestic market. The Ugandan government has since declined to confirm or deny the claim.

The New Vision quoted Attia El Gayar, an official at the Cairo-based Soil, Water and Environment Research Institute as saying that one site of 200 hectares had already been identified in northern Uganda.

"The farm will be used for research and production to demonstrate and train extension workers and farmers in wheat growing. It will be a joint farm between Uganda and Egypt," he was quoted as saying.