September 7, 2010

Egypt, Sudan sign crop cultivation agreement

Egypt and Sudan have signed an agreement to cultivate one million acres in Gezira, Sudan with major crops, including wheat, corn and sugar beet, for the benefit of Egypt's private and public enterprises.

The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Amin Abaza, said in a statement that the agreement document was signed with Abdel Halim Ismail, the Sudanese Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, in the presence of Faiza Abu-Naja, the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation and Tjani Saleh Fidail, Minister of International Cooperation in Sudan.

He called the agreement one of the important results of the Joint Egyptian-Sudanese Supreme Committee, and said all the legal framework necessary to activate the agreement had been finalised pending the committee meeting in October.

The agreement commits the Egyptian side to provide and supply production inputs to the Sudanese side including adequate quantities of seeds, fertiliser, pesticides and machines, not less than two weeks before the planting season.