Title: THE EGYPTIAN FARMING PRACTICIES TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTAND ITS DETERMINANTS
Author(s): Amin, A.I.
Organisation: National Research Centre.
Country: Egypt
Tendency toward application of advanced technology in farming practices has been accelerated
in Egypt since the mid Seventies of the last century. Both domestic technology generation
and foreign technology transfer were encouraged. High-quality cultivars, mechanized farming
operations, and modern agricultural systems, such as protected agriculture and organic farming
were strongly introduced. As such, this study tended to assess the Egyptian experience
in farming modernization, areas of success, points of weakness and drawbacks, determinants
and measures of improvement. Based on field data, the study revealed a generally low percent
of modern techniques adoption, especially for costly innovations or integrated technological
packages, dropping to nearly 2% of total farmers. Agricultural infrastructure unfavorable conditions
withheld a great deal of the modernized practices benefits. Governmental support, both
extensional and financial, is vitally required to enable expansion of convenient modern farming
practices and maximize the benefits fulfilled.
Although foreign technology transfer and domestic research have been accelerated since the
mid seventies of the last century, modernization of the Egyptian farming practices is extremely
slow. Capital shortage, poor extension, lack of coordination, conflicts and overlap among introduced
techniques and dominant infrastructure problems are the main factors hindering development.
The government should carry on with programs of agricultural infrastructure improvement
and pay more coordination efforts to overcome farmers’ confusion with respect to choice
of the most appropriate technologies.
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