Approximately 85% of
farmers in Upper Egypt cultivate crops on plots of less
than four feddans (1feddan is roughly equal 1 acre).
EL SHAMS project was formed to build the organizational
capacity of such small-scale farmers by assisting them
in establishing Farmers Associations (FAs) and in
improving their business skills, technical know-how, and
market intelligence through training and technical
services.
|
|
Capacity Building |
EL SHAMS has impacted more than 11,000 farmers through
its assistance to the 103 Farmer Associations in nine
governorates in Upper Egypt. EL SHAMS has offered
approximately 35,643 training opportunities to FA
members and trained 324 Horticultural Extension Agents
affiliated with Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture and Land
Reclamation (MALR) in a wide range of technical topics,
as well as in adult learning and teaching skills.
|
|
|
|
|
Marketing and Marketing Intelligence |
|
Since project inception in September 2003, EL
SHAMS has assisted the members of 103 Farmers
Associations to market 107,849 MTs of high-value
crops through forward contracts in international
and domestic markets, worth LE142,137 million.
Some 30,320 MTs, worth LE62,926 million, were
exported to Europe, North America, and Gulf
States.
EL SHAMS
facilitated the participation of 206 FA leaders,
private-sector buyers, and government extension
agents in 20 Observational Study Tours to the
USA and Europe.
EL SHAMS
organized three Farmers’ Expositions for FA
members to present their products and increase
their business opportunities.
EL SHAMS
assisted FAs in organizing harvest days for
farmers, the private sector, and government
officials to celebrate the harvest of the most
rewarding high-value crops. |
|
|
|
Policy Analysis and Advocacy |
|
EL SHAMS has assisted the FAs in their ability to
responsibly and effectively engage in dialogue with
central and local government officials, and to build
public-private partnerships to alleviate some of the
most critical challenges facing the Egyptian
agricultural sector. EL SHAMS has educated FAs on how to
identify, analyze, and prioritize policies and
regulatory impediments that adversely affect the ability
of Upper Egyptian farmers to produce high-value crops,
and then to work with local and national decision-makers
to solve such problems.
|
|
International Certification |
By project end in September 2007, EL SHAMS will have
assisted 29 FAs to become EurepGAP certified.
|
|
In-kind Grants |
|
EL SHAMS provided
in-kind grants of equipment to all 103 FAs, including
office equipment (i.e., computers, printers, fax
machines, telephones, and modems), plastic barnikas,
(containers for transferring crops), and weighing
scales. |
|
The Smallholder Matching Grant Unit (SMGU), managed
by EL SHAMS, provides equipment grants to Upper
Egyptian smallholder farmers working with CARE and
ACDI/VOCA as part of the USAID-funded AERI projects
for horticulture and for dairy and livestock,
respectively. To date, an estimated LE 16.928 million
in kind grants has been approved for 22 FAs and an
estimated LE 3.713 million has been approved for 11
small-marketing associations.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
STARTING DATE:
September 2003
TARGET
GROUP:
10,000 small and medium-sized
farmers in Upper Egypt.
LOCATION:
9 governorates of
Upper Egypt:
Assuit,
Sohag,
Qena,
Aswan,
Luxor,
Mineya, Fayoum
Beni Suef, and
Giza, grouped into 3
regions in order to organize efficiently all
technical assistance and training.
GOAL:
To
increase rural
income in Upper
Egypt by building
the
the capacity of small
and medium sized
farmers to improve
the production, processing
and marketing of horticultural products.
PARTNERS:
The University of
California at Davis (UC Davis) and ACDI/VOCA;
and 2 Egyptian- based organizations: Nile Valley
Group (NVG) and Environment Quality
International (EQI)
FUNDED BY:
USAID and CARE Egypt
|
|
|
