The season of harvesting cotton is not a feast day any more for the farmers Free market by the internet from the farms of the white gold in the Egyptian countryside Its' motto: the rights in hunger … wasting resources
The Egyptian farmers lives a long-ranged suffering as human beings who work and produce under the laws of the international market that use the motto "everything is for trade and sale even people" with a government whose performance is based on ignoring, negligence and flounder of the Egyptian agrarian policies, which will lead to more deterioration of the farmers livelihood conditions, of the agrarian working conditions and wasting natural resources.
Although Egypt has entered the international market so much earlier than its' similar countries because of its' special agrarian production "cotton", which used to represent one of the most important agrarian productions that effected the in raising the income rates and growth of the Egyptian economy since the beginning of the last century, but despite all of this, this product has fallen back from its' position internationally for Egypt as a result of several countries surpassing - even the developing ones - in taking care of farming cotton, in addition to extreme carelessness by the state toward cotton farmers and increasing their burdens by applying several policies that have affected negatively on the conditions of the Egyptian farmers, for more than 30 continuous years, and maybe the best example for this is: the complaints that the Center has received from the farmers of:
Sherbein and El Reyad stations - El Daqahleya province, Edko and El Rahmaneya stations - El Behera province, Qleen station - Kafr El Shaikh province, Qwesna and El Heseneya stations - El Sharqeya province and from several deferent villages in rural districts.
Stating that they have been harmed by the decreased prices of cotton this year which have led to losses that have reached 40% of the harvest selling total, as the price of a quintal of cotton this year has reached about 550 pounds when compared with last years' price 1100 pounds, and it is worth mentioning that a feddan of cotton produces between 5 - 7 quintals, therefore the farmers losses this year have reached more than 1000 pounds per feddan, because the average of the total expenses for a feddan is about 4000 pounds (rent, buying fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, irrigation, expenses of harvesting… etc) and that the price of selling the harvest of this year is about 3500 pounds, therefore the expenses of the agrarian process weren't covered.
And Hag "Abdel Aleem" confirms that the government must find solutions to stop these losses that will lead to the imprisonment of farmers in the end, and the stagnation of the land, and that it shouldn't accuse farmer of mixing long staple (fiber) cotton with the short ones although the prices of the long staple and the short ones have decreased, or charge them with farming more and areas than requested with 30%, doed the farming increase lead to the decrease of the price to less than 50%, and it is worth mentioning that Egypt 10 years ago used to grow double the area farmed today with cotton as cotton was the title of the Egyptian agriculture and the price wasn't at this low limit.
And about the governments' accusations to the farmers of farming seeds unwanted in the markets, some of the farmers have confirmed that the ministry of agriculture distributes the seeds that it needs to receive from the farmers because it is the one that owns the information about the markets' needs, then, who's responsible for these internationally unwanted types this year?
And who is responsible for monitoring and questioning the ones who cheat in seeds, like: when some companies mix the seeds of the long staple cotton with the short ones, which have led to the loss of the reputation of the Egyptian cotton in the international markets.
One of the agrarian engineers in Kafr Abo Sa'eed - Sherbeen wonders, is farming an unwanted type has led to the companies not buying the crops this year, which have led to the accumulation of the cotton and the decrease of its' price according to the laws of the free market? Or is what has led to the withdrawal of the companies is the decrease of the international price of cotton less than the price of the Egyptian cotton with 150 pound per quintal?
And the Center sees that the decrease of the international price of cotton goes back to the support of the deferent governments to thir farmers with deferent ways and methods, like reducing the expenses and costs and other forms of support for farmers and agriculture.
The Center confirms that the season of harvesting cotton is not a feast day any more for the farmers, as the crops occupy the land for about a year (9 months from February to October), therefore the ministry of agriculture instead of talking about agrarian reform in the media, improving mechanical and informational farming and establishing illusion or unreal connections for improved irrigation, covered deflation, guidance, marketing… etc, it must do its' role in supporting farmers and developing the Egyptian agriculture especially the strategic crops like cotton, and it must reduce the farming expenses of cotton, as farmers buy pesticides with about 800 pound per feddan or substitute it with applying the integral biological programs, take the debts off them that they owe to the bank and the cooperative association that reach about 200 pounds per feddan, support farmers to produce high productive natural seeds, follow up and guide farmers in the ways and methods of fighting blights and how to get rid of waterway weeds, provide the production equipments, organize the implementation of the crop rotation and the integral biological fighting to annihilate the cotton bolls spiny and pink worm, and it is necessary to declare and announce the prices of the cotton before planting it with a price that is no less than the cost (expenses) that farmers spend on the crops with a small marginal profit that encourage farmers to farm again in the next years.
Some reports have pointed toward the effects of this problem to the withdrawal of the size of contracting Egyptian cottons during the season of 2003/2004 that didn't reach 1.5 million quintals in front of 3.5 million quintals during 2002/2003.
The Center wonders, why doesn't the government support the industrial sector to turn Egyptian cotton into yarn, as the price of one ton of cotton after being yarned is 6000 pounds, and if weaved its' price reaches about 15 thousand pounds and if manufactured it reaches 50 thousand pounds, instead of continuing the privatization process, selling factories and displacing workers.
Some sources stated that about 600 factories in El Mahalla El Kobra are out of work (stopped) because of cotton during 2003/2004.
And the Center sees that the ministry of agriculture just stood watching the crisis of the decrease of the cotton prices, as its' performance in solving the problem was distinguished by carelessness, flounder and disability as some official announcements have confirmed, starting with the announcement of that there isn't enough cash to buy cotton from the farmers, that have reached 200 million pounds as a result of the increase of supplying (importing) because of the withdrawal of the companies after the decrease of the international prices, the ministry have failed to provide the whole sum of money and provided only 41% of it.
In addition to that, the cotton has been received fro the farmers in some districts by bank employees who don't have experiences to sort the cottons and define its' types and quality or storing it, and the farmers in some districts were forced to transport the cotton from the compounds to their homes once again, because the ministry has refused to take it because it didn't have enough money to buy the harvest even with this cheap price, although the ministry collects the harvest from the farmers through cooperatives, the agrarian development and trust bank, the gathering center, the agrarian institutions and the agrarian reform compounds, but most of the times, these centers in some districts refuse to take the harvest from the farmers.
The performance of the employees of the ministry was based on carelessness and corruption, that was revealed when they used decayed pesticides last year in fighting the silkworm, that was confirmed when the under secretary of agriculture in El Menya and Asyout was fired because of importing and using decayed amounts of pesticides that have led to the improvement of the worms' species and the previously used pesticides didn't work n it, in El Menya some reports have stated that the infection have reached 80% of the agrarian crops.
And the Center confirms that the problem of using seeds that some official announcements have spread as an excused for the crisis and that it is the cause of the reduction of the cotton prices or that it didn't have the required quality, we ask the minister, isn't the ministry of agriculture the one responsible of producing and distributing these seeds and the one responsible of importing and supervising it?
And the Center sees that what has been said by some sources in the ministry of agriculture about activating the role of the balancing fund of crops marketing prices is only newspapers talk, as a legislation must be issued to make this fund and support its' resources from cotton traders and the states' resources that it takes from farmers by real estate taxes, tolls of cleaning waterways… etc. and all of those interested in the progress and advancement of the Egyptian agriculture and guarantee farmers rights in decent living should participate in this.
And the government wasn't satisfied with its' carelessness, flounder and disability in facing the problem, but there was a big contradiction between its' officials, as the minister of external (abroad) trade in an announcement confirms that we are hasting in applying the policies of the free market, for example: that there are disagreements with the American side because of the policies of the Egyptian government for the rules of intellectual ownership and the policies of supporting cotton, that postponed the agreement known as (Tifa), at the time that the American government is supporting farmers especially cotton farmers, the Egyptian minister confirms that the government has progressed in a big way that have surpassed the American expectations in reforming concerned with facilitating the customs system, bank reforms, privatization of the industrial and agricultural sectors and canceling the support of some agrarian productions and crops, like cotton. Who do we expect will defend farmers and citizens' rights in food, working opportunities, safe farming and land?
On the other hand the Center sees that there is some fear from signing the agreement of the qualified industrial regions (Quez) without discussing and presenting it to the civil society foundations, the peoples' and local councils and specialists from deferent centers and forces, for its' negative effects on manufacturing textiles in Egypt, and the Center confirms the necessity of making wide discussions with all of the sides interested in agriculture and industry in Egypt, before signing the agreement for the benefit of the workers and protecting them from displacement.
And the Center came forward with the farmers complaints to the ministry of agriculture demanding to compensate the farmers for the ruin of their homes and plantations this year as a result of panting cotton, as the ministry must bear the fighting expenses and it must relieve the farmers from paying the real estate taxes anf from the interests related to loans for farming cotton, and raising the minimum limit of importing crops to 1200 to cover the expensive costs of the agrarian process.
We are all demanded to reconsider these policies and agreements to prevent the sinking that big food companies of the world practice on the markets of the developing countries, and to respect the rights of the developing countries in making a policy that leads to protecting human rights, resources from being wasted, providing food and safe land, and that will be by providing high productive seeds and at the same time suitable to the conditions and weather of the Egyptian agriculture, protecting our resources from being wasted and guaranteeing citizens rights in safe and suitable living.