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The Egyptian farmer is in danger; His present is stolen, his future is lost

While the economic and social circumstances of the Egyptian farmer is deteriorating, his grieves and problems increases, the variation in the ways of abusing him, wasting his life and productivity by slogans of maneuver launched by the government, structural accommodation, correlation with the international Market and the other markets, in addition to barricading the farmer with a cordon of imported governmental policies; the farmer was derived to live in a pointed danger, and lose the hope of the future, which is lost because of the cruel globalization.
The agricultural sector, where the Egyptian farmer works, is a prominent sector; this sector is one of the main important sectors for the Egyptian economy, as this sector provides us with food security, it is a main source that provides the productive and other service sectors with inputs, it encompasses nearly 27% of the employment in the Egyptian economy, in addition to the important role of the agricultural exports in enhancing the Egyptian balance sheet; those exports contribute with 14.8% of the Egyptian non-petroleum exports.
Agricultural advance is an end in itself, not a mean, where Egypt endeavors achieving it, as it is the main resource that provides Egypt with what is needed to implement the development programs in the different economic sectors. Thus, any progress in that sector would, directly, affect the Egyptian economy, and would lead to luxury for all citizens, especially the farmers.
During the nineteenth century, Egypt has witnessed developments in the fields of agriculture and irrigation; many irrigational projects were established, which lead to the safe of the amount of water needed for the increase of the area of the agricultural lands, from 2 million Feddans in 1813 to 4 million Feddans in 1952.
Since 1952 and till just before the mid eightieth of the twentieth century, there was a continuous concern with the agricultural sector, its development and progress. It was the start of the appearance of the agricultural reform in Egypt. Before that time, the squires did monopolize the majority of the arable land, at the time were two-thirds of the rural community were living without lands, without work, and in low standard livings.
In such circumstances, the law of the agricultural reform was passed, which limited the maximum amount of the agricultural area to be owned, and distributed the remnant lands among farmers who don't possess agricultural lands. The law also illustrated the basis for compensations to be granted for those who suffered seizure on their lands. In addition, the law regulated the relationship between the owner and the tenant, established agricultural cooperatives, and showed the rights of the agricultural workers.
Thus, the development of the Egyptian agriculture doesn't depend on only one factor, like the crop composition, but depends also on co-reactive economical, social and institutional factor. Therefore, any partial solution, lamed to confront the Egyptian agriculture challenges and surrounding variables, would not achieve nourishment security for the society in general, and the farmers in part.
This was the situation for nearly three decades, where the area of the agricultural lands reached, nearly, 6.2 million Feddans in 1981, the gross agricultural production reached 18.8% of the GDP, and the agricultural sector contributed in supporting the national income with 20% of the total exports.
On the mid-eightieth of the twentieth century, and under the pressure of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Egypt had decided to move towards the open market economy, by fostering the programs of the economic reform and the structural amendments.
The agricultural sector was one of the main national economic sectors that have witnessed profound changes, where it affected directly the inputs and outputs of the agricultural production in Egypt. Moreover, the effect has reached the agricultural structure as a whole.
The country has started its tendencies, in the agricultural sector, towards more economic liberation, so as to leave the main economic decisions pertaining to production, pricing, and marketing the economic product to the forces of the market.
The role of the ministry of agriculture and reclaiming lands became limited to put permission plans, preparation of the economic studies, and the agricultural policies and regulations, contributing in agrarian development programs, implementing the main agricultural structure, and supporting scientific research institutions.
The Egyptian agricultural strategy, declared by the Egyptian government during that period and after it, was alleged to be established for achieving the agricultural progress, by liberating the agricultural sector from governmental intervention, based on the general economic policy of the state, which is based on the philosophy of free economy, and enabling the powers of the market in all economic aspects.
This policy aims, as the government has propagated then, to achieve economic efficiency for the agricultural resources, in addition to achieving the social justices in allocating the national income among economic sector and the other sectors, which lead to the improvements of the living standards of farmers economically and socially.
However, nothing of this happened. The first decade in the twenty first century is about to end, though, nearly, 40 million farmers still suffer from those failing policies, relating to their social and economical rights. Those policies caused them damages and havoc, and lead to the deterioration of the overwhelming majority of them under the deep poverty lines; they live by less than 1 dollar aday.
Those policies- that never cared for the social levels, and left small farmers confronting the spooky capitalism alone, depending on diminished acquisitions and primitive tools for agricultural production, in a back warded system- led to the deterioration of the health circumstances, and breached the farmers' rights for health. Health right is one of the main human rights stated by the national conventions- which were ratified by the Egyptian government, and became an essential part of its domestic legislations, according to article 151 of the constitution- not a grant from the government to the citizens. In addition, the constitution guaranteed the right of enjoying good health, in articles 16 and 17. The right of good health is not limited to services of treatment and care, it expands to encompass safe food, clean water, sewage system, and clean environments as a broader definition to the right of health, which is considered, prominently, an extension to the right of life.
We, now, witness an important stage in the history of Egypt, which will witness parliamentary elections in 2010, followed by presidential elections in 2011, while having such agitating status that covers all sectors of the Egyptian society.
Since farmers form the biggest sector in the Egyptian society (57.7% of the total population), where they have the burden of developing the nation; we must specify the next period for making it up for the Egyptian agricultural sector, in order to enhance the conditions of the farmer in all fields, and to give the farmer the main priority in the policy of any coming government. Any person, who doesn't appreciate the farmer, doesn't appreciate the Egyptian loyalty values. The farmer is the basic cause of the progress for the whole society.
A human rights report, issued recently, has revealed that the infrastructure services of the rural regions have been fallen down; unemployment rates, in some regions, have reached more than 60%; living standards among farmers have been deteriorated, reaching its minimum levels; the mount of poverty rates for more than 75%; deployment of crime rates, especially robbery and cunning, for a ratio more than 85% compared to 1980; the sharp raise of rates of agrarian environment pollution, as a result of the misuse of the abandoned, prohibited and deteriorated pesticides, which led to the break out of the kidney failure diseases and cancer disease, etc….
In addition, the social and cultural values, which are constituted as the protecting and the efficient tools in the social relationships between the sons of the rural communities, have collapsed.
Also, ignoring some conducts used for social regulations, which were used to resolve clashes and internal disputes among farmer, has contributed in that collapse. Those conducts were preserving and protecting the independency of the agrarian community, and their social relations from being submitted to the official courts.
Now, the question; which is raised by the victims of the policies of the Egyptian government, like researchers and decent experts, who studied and spared no efforts, and who are ready to contribute by their education, in order to fix what was blown by that regime, if they were granted the chance to prove themselves and their abilities to deal with such painful reality, in order to change that painful reality and achieve a real progress, so self satisfaction with food and clothes can be achieved, and the farmers could have better chances for safe and decent life; is: Are those agricultural policies, approved by consequent Egyptian governments, able to change the social, economic and environmental painful reality, from which the Egyptian farmer suffers in his present and future?
In the same context, Land Center for Human Rights seeks to submit on the speaking floor an alternative to those policies attributed to the Egyptian agriculture and the humiliating conditions of the farmers, by displaying the vision of many experts, researches and academics in the workshop organized by the center.
The work shop discusses those visions in 4 main axes, as following:
- First axis:
* Water crisis... a painful reality, and dangerous future.
- Second axis:
* Horizontal expansion; an addition or a waste
- Third axis:
* The past and the present of the agricultural legislations
- Fourth axis
* Agricultural cooperatives and the civil society…. Is it an absent or missed role?
Suggested agenda for Land center workshop The Egyptian farmer is in danger…. His present is stolen, and his future is lost which is going to be hold in 28/12/2009, in the land center headquarter, in Cairo
Tapes recordings………………………………………. 9-9.30
First session……………………………………………..9.30-12
- First axis:
* Water crisis... a painful reality, and dangerous future..................................... Professor/ Abdul Sabour Ahmed (Professor of agricultural guidance, in center of agricultural research)
Professor/ Samer El-mufti (The ex secretary general of the center of desert studies and science)
Chairperson of the session, Professor/ Fatima Ramadan (Researcher in center of social studies)
Second session…………………………………………12-2
- Second axis:
* Vertical expansion; an addition or a waste …………………………………………. Professor/ El-khouli Salem El-khouli (Professor of agricultural sociology, faculty of agriculture, Al-azhar University, Cairo) …………………………………....Emad Habib Journalist and TV support
Chairperson of the session, Saad Hagrass (manging editor of the world today )
Tea break………………………………………………2-2.15
Third session…………………………………………3.15-3.30
- Third axis:
* The past and the present of the agricultural legislations…………………………… Mohammed Mohiey (Chairman of the organization of the human development)
Doctor/ Emad El-Husseiny (Assistant professor in the institute of the researches of the agricultural guidance and countryside development)
ِ Chairperson of the session ,Aza Seleman
Lunch break………………………………………………….3.30-4
Fourth session…………………………………………………4-5.30
- Fourth action
* Agricultural cooperatives and the civil society…. Is it an absent or missed role?
Professor/ Osama El-bahnasawy (Professor of agricultural economy in faculty of agriculture, Azhar University, Cairo)
Ashraf Abd El lahe (researcher, department of rural sociology research center agricultural research)
Chairperson of the session, Mona Azat (journalist and human rights activist )