Date: 24 Sep, 2023
Location: Republic of Egypt
At the kind invitation of H.E. Prof. Dr. Saad Nassar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Association for Agricultural Economics, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Union of Agricultural Economists in the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Mr. Mohammed bin Obaid Al Mazrooei, AAAID’s President participated in the 30th Conference of Agricultural Economists that was held under the theme “Agricultural Integration and Arab Food Security during Global Crises” during 20-21 September, 2023 at the headquarters of the Agricultural Club in Dokki in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
During the conference’s second session titled “Investment Opportunities and Joint Arab Agricultural Projects” on 20 September 2023, H.E. AAAID’s President delivered a presentation titled “AAAID’s initiative to cover the deficit of basic food commodities in the Arab countries”, in which he briefly introduced AAAID including its vision, objectives, sectoral distribution of its contributions and investments, its strategy and role in contributing to supporting the small-scale farmers and producers segment, as well as its development programs in the Arab countries.
Furthermore, H.E. pointed out that the average value of the food deficit in basic commodities such as grains, sugar, dairy, vegetable oils, meat and legumes in Arab countries is estimated at about USD 42 billion, and is considered amongst the major challenges to the Arab countries. It is expected in the future that the size of the food deficit in the Arab countries will continue to worsen as a result of population growth and rising prices, as well as the negative impacts on the growth of agricultural production, for instance climate change, drought, desertification, epidemics and diseases, in addition to the lack of investments directed to the agricultural sector, weak infrastructure in some countries, and the lack of Arab agricultural integration according to comparative advantage.
Lastly, H.E AAAID’s President showcased the proposed mechanism for implementing AAAID’s initiative to cover the deficit in basic food commodities, which lies in introducing AAAID’s initiative, allocating land areas, organizing meetings with investors from the private sector, signing framework agreements between potential shareholders, and forming task forces for each proposed project in each country to prepare a feasibility study, besides carrying out workshops on financing projects, and establishing companies, as well as initiating the implementation of projects. AAAID’s President was also honored along a number of the conference participants for their exerted efforts and distinguished participation.
