More and Better Food An Egyptian Demonstration Project (1986) / Chapter Skim
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THE MORE AND BETTER FOOD INTERVENTION PROJECTS
THE MORE AND BETTER FOOD INTERVENTION PROJECTS
Pages 71-125
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From page 71... ...
The initiation stage of the MBF project included four major sequential steps: (1) the establishment of a steering committee, with full delegated authority; (2)
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From page 72... ...
The average productivity is a low 6 tons/per feddan, yet the overall production of tomatoes is still higher than the production for any other vegetable crop. In Omar Makram (Tahrir)
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From page 73... ...
Problems and Solutions At the time the MBF project started, the experience of the NRC staff with tomato cultivation was limited to thesis-oriented research on plant physiology, nutrition, growth and development, pests, and pest control. Actual experience on new practices or modern methods was virtually nonexistent.
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From page 74... ...
Technical difficulties included selection of tomato varieties that give a large, high-quality crop, that resist diseases, and that fit in the growing season; protection against diseases and pests to which new varieties were susceptible, as well as seedling bed protection against virus infection before transfer; proper preparation of land before cultivation to suit the new practices; determination of the optimum number of plants per unit area; timing types, quantities, and application procedures for fertilizers; and irrigation techniques to prevent overirrigation as well as drought. Accordingly, the program designed and implemented by the NRC staff included selection of high-yielding varieties, proper care of seedling beds in cultivation under tunnels, intensive farming, proper utilization of soil and leaf fertilizers, control of irrigation practices, and application of a highly efficient system for disease and pest control.
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From page 75... ...
Average in Average Governorate MBF Omar Makram 4.0 27.8 2380 Kafr Al-Khadra 5.7 32.4 2670 (fl) 100 Egyptian Pounds/Ton SOURCE: "Program on Development of Tomato Crop in Giza, Bl-Fayum and Beni-Suef Governorates," NRC, ORDEV, and Agricultural Research Centre (ARC)
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- 76 FIGURE 11 Traditional tomato farming in Omar Makram. FIGURE 12 MBF tomato cultivation on wires Omar Makram.
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Table 26 shows cultivation, production, and income rates in the three governorates. In 1984, the MBF project introduced the technique of growing tomato seedlings under plastic tunnels in Beni Magdoul (Giza Governorate)
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Giza Aiat 1,556 13 1,204 25.17 6.81 1,836 39,175 10,600 BeniAlwasta 1,000 -- 821 26.35 7.21 1,914 Suef 26,350 7,210 ElTamia Fayum El-Fayum 5,275 -- 4,084 31.94 8.01 2,393 Sanoras 168,478 42,252 Top values represent average productivity in tons per feddan for MBF participants and nonparticlpants, respectively. Bottom values represent overall production (in tons)
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From page 79... ...
Recent records show that the current domestic consumption of maize is about 5 million tons and is estimated to reach more than 6 million tons by 1990, necessitating an increase in total production of more than 50 percent. Therefore, assuming the area planted in maize remains constant, production per unit area must be doubled.
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From page 80... ...
Objectives The maize project set several objectives: o To more than double productivity per unit area through the use of new varieties and suitable practices, thus increasing the income of the small farmers o To encourage maize growers to adopt a package of improved agronomic practices through the use of demonstration fields o To work toward application of the improved practices on a national level to reach self-sufficiency in this strategic crop o To introduce a summer forage crop for feeding livestock and to avoid defoliation and detasseling of the plants. Program Elements The program applied practices developed by NRC scientists in the extension field at Kafr Al-Khadra.
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Accomplishments The maize project started in 1980 and continued until 1983 under the MBF project. In 1981, the maize project
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"MBF: Program on Development of Maize Crop and Introducing a Summer Green Fodder," National Information and Documentation Centre, Cairo, March 1983.
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- 83 FIGURE 14 Giza-2 variety maize (top) ; Millex-24 maize (bottom)
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"MBF: Program on Development of Maize Crop and Introducing a Summer Green Fodder," National Information and Documentation Centre, Cairo, March 1983. The economic impact of the maize project is illustrated by the following results of 1982 season in Kafr Al-Khadra: o Area cultivated with Giza-2: 46 feddans, 5 kirats o Total crop: 1,179 ardabs o Expected yield from same area with fialadi variety: 545 ardabs o Increased production with Giza-2: 634 ardabs (116.3 percent)
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From page 85... ...
o The maize variety Pioneer-514, although it produces a large crop, is not acceptable to the Egyptians because of its poor flour characteristics; the locally produced Giza-2 is the most suitable for national programs. o The cultivation of an animal fodder, such as Millex-24 or Sordan 77, on an area of l-2 kilotons/ feddan lessens defoliation of maize leaves and increases net income.
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From page 86... ...
The MOA has also established a national committee to develop Egypt's peanut crop; the NRC will play a leading role in that effort. Objectives The program had the following objectives: o To demonstrate, through an integrated program, how scientific and technical expertise can diagnose the problems facing peanut producers, allocate needed resources, and implement a timely production plan o To demonstrate how the program increases peanut production, to make farmers aware of the benefits they gain by joining the project, and to lead to a nationwide program for developing the peanut crop o To increase the country's export of the commodity, thus bringing in more foreign currency.
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From page 87... ...
Union. Peanut crops cover more than 6,000 feddans.
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From page 88... ...
on an area of 64 feddans owned by 54 farmers. As a result of successful design and execution of the project plan, average productivity of the project's peanut crop was 31.2 ardabs/feddan, compared to a village
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The MBF project supplied the fungicide and the pesticide for the first year only, at a cost of LE 33.91/feddan. FIGURE 15 Peanut project in Omar Makram.
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From page 90... ...
and the micronutrients. The average productivity of the land in the MBF project was 32.5 ardabs/feddan.
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From page 91... ...
Nonparticipants -- Average productivity of nonparticipants = 12 ardabs/feddan -- Average income of nonparticipants = LE 360/feddan -- Total expenses outside the project = LE 100/feddan -- Average net income = LE 260/feddan -- Net income for an area equivalent to that used by participants (450 feddans)
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From page 92... ...
The MBF project undertook a program to encourage the long-practiced activity of poultry-keeping by the farmer. Because raising chickens is customarily done by the farmer's wife as a sideline, such a project also encouraged the active participation of women in the village economy.
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From page 93... ...
Project Development The project on improvement of poultry productivity was designed to change poultry-keeping from a sideline operation to a family-sized production project. This necessitated introducing highly productive breeds; assessing available resources for chicken feed formulations and developing year-round distribution programs; developing small-scale production units for broilers and eggs; and training villagers in modern managerial techniques of poultry-keeping.
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From page 94... ...
Economic Evaluation Economic evaluation of profitability of the poultry project is estimated as a function of equipment and investment cost, expected durability of equipment, pay-back period, interest rate, and operating costs. Evaluation of a typical unit with 100 chicks per rotation and a total of five rotations per year, based on actual values, showed the following results:
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From page 95... ...
Pay-back period = Total initial investment divided by annual profit = 0.58 year. OTHER PROJECTS OF SIGNIFICANT IMPACT The MBF intervention projects were directed toward increasing the production of farm crops through appropriate technologies and new practices, and subsequently improving the socia1, economic, and nutritional status of the village population.
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, Omar Makram (Beheira) , and Beni Magdoul (Giza)
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The project objective was to introduce new techniques and practices in onion cultivation to improve the quantity and the quality of the crop. The project was conducted in Omar Makram, Kafr Al-Khadra, and Beni Magdoul.
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From page 98... ...
In 1983, 52 farmers in Beni Magdoul joined the project with 25 feddans. The seedling beds were cultivated mid-October, and the transfer took place in December.
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- 99 FIGURE 18 Conventional production of onions in Omar Makram (top) ; Giza-20 onion farm in Omar Makram (bottom)
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Average productivity amounted to 15 tons/feddan, compared to an average of 3 tons/feddan for conventional cultivation.
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From page 101... ...
Improvement of Potato Production In Egypt, potatoes are cultivated in a total area of about 130,000 feddans. Average productivity is about six tons per feddan, which is very low compared to world records of more than 60 tons per hectare (148.8 tons per feddan)
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From page 102... ...
The project objective was to introduce new practices, based on field experiences of NRC staff, to improve potato crop production in Omar Makram and Kafr Al-Khadra. The project provided opportunities for on-the-job training of local agriculture extension staff and demonstrated the potential of the new technologies.
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From page 103... ...
NRC staff found that crop losses were a result of pests (acarous nematodes, insects, and fungi) and soil deficiencies in micronutrients (zinc, manganese, and iron)
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From page 104... ...
Contracts for services to followup on program applications cost LE 50 per feddan. Improvement of Dairy Production Egypt's total milk production amounts to about 2.2 million tons/annum (buffalo and cow milk)
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To improve the cleanliness of the home-produced milk products, the MBF project encouraged the use of a new, quicker acting starter, and the adoption of cheesecloths to replace the mats on which cheese traditionally has been drained. Lectures on dairy hygiene and on-the-job training took place.
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From page 106... ...
At Omar Makram, NRC researchers followed the same procedure of introducing new beekeeping practices and donating 50 bee colonies to interested villagers.
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From page 107... ...
Efforts to encourage beekeeping are continuing in both villages: project plans call for training opportunities for villagers, provision of loans, and development of adequate extension services. The other project, on development of sericulture practice (the rearing of cocoons and silkworms in order to manufacture silk)
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HEALTH AND NUTRITION STATUS AND IMPACT OF THE MBF PROJECT The high rates of infant and preschool mortality are two of Egypt's most severe public health problems.
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In this section, then, we examine the nutritional status of two villages that participated in the MBF project and describe some interventions that resulted. Data indicating malnutrition are based on anthropometric measures (height and weight)
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From page 110... ...
Families in Kafr Al-Khadra relied heavily on subsistence production to meet a portion of their household food needs, whereas fewer than 10 percent of the households in Omar Makram produced their own staples (wheat, maize, dairy products, or poultry)
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Omar Makram Kafr Al-Khadra (N = 100)
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From page 112... ...
. Households that produced some of their own poultry for consumption had better diets (in terms of all TABLE 35 Production-Consumption Variables and Differences(3^ for Households with High and Low Dietary Adequacy, Kafr Al-Khadra Production and Associated with consumption of: adequacy of : Poultry Energy, total protein, animal protein, iron Wheat Total protein Maize Total protein, iron Dairy Products Total protein
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From page 113... ...
Although birth rates in the two villages were similar, the death rate in Kafr Al-Khadra exceeded that of Omar Makram. Recording birth weights in the two villages served as an index of nutritional status during gestation and as an internal monitoring system to document variation in nutritional status over time.
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From page 114... ...
90 li 80 ec 70 0 ^ 60 z ^ 50 40 -- * figures not available »~ II 1 1 1 1 1 1968 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 YEARS FIGURE 24 Infant mortality rate.
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From page 115... ...
In Kafr Al-Khadra, the Waterlow classifications of height-for-age and weight-for-height was used to define nutritional status. Very few of the children were in the critical category of combined wasting and stunting.
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- 116 100 90 80 70 60 B 50 K Ul a. 40 30 20 10 Normal up to 90% of expected weight 1 Malnutrition 90.75% of expected weight 2 Malnutrition 75.60% of expected weight 3 Malnutrition 60% of expected weight FIGURE 25 Percent of malnutrition in Omar Makram.
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- 117 LU u K 100 90 80 70 60 50 20 10 0 MALNUTRITION J I 12 I _L I 24 AGE IN MONTHS 36 48 M U1 M O u ce 100 90 80 70 60 60 40 30 20 10 0 RETARDATION 12 24 AGE IN MONTHS 36 48 FIGURE 26 Measures of nutritional problems in Kafr Al-Khadra.
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From page 118... ...
Factors such as infant mortality rates, birth rates, population growth, and birth weights are also close to national data. Some nutritional similarities between Kafr Al-Khadra (considered a typical Egyptian village in the Valley)
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From page 119... ...
The major assumption was that increased production of food and its use by the household members would improve their nutritional status. It was also thought that increased production would increase real income, thereby giving residents greater purchasing power in the food markets.
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Thus, the MBF Project has had an impact far beyond its original geographic boundaries.
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Report submitted to the Steering Committee of the MBF Project, Cairo, Egypt.
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From page 122... ...
Nutrition Planning, Assessment and Evaluation Service, Food Policy and Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy.
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From page 123... ...
29. National Research Centre, Organization for Reconstruction and Development of the Egyptian Village, and Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture.
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From page 124... ...
Report Number 40, International Food Policy Research Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
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