Food & Climate
Despite the numerous success stories to use agricultural residues in Egypt, and converting it into various products such as fertilizers, biogas, and wood processing, there are huge quantities of this waste that have not yet been exploited, amounting to 40-45 million tons.
The Minister of Agriculture, Alaa Farouk, and the Minister of Environment, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, discussed ways to utilize agricultural waste and residues in Egypt, whether resulting from agricultural or livestock activities, according to a statement received by “Food & Climate” platform on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given on the use of agricultural residues in the production of non-traditional feed, given the availability of large quantities of field waste and waste from vegetable and fruit crops.
These agricultural residues are currently used in Egypt in a number of areas, including the production of unconventional feed and organic fertilizers such as compost. They are also used in some products, such as the wood industry and bioenergy production.
The two ministers reviewed the obstacles to exploiting agricultural residues in Egypt to manufacture new products, but the statement did not address any of these obstacles.
Investment opportunities in agricultural residues in Egypt
A ministerial meeting reviewed investment opportunities for exploiting agricultural residues in Egypt, including a project to establish a factory to recycle palm frond waste in the New Valley for wood production, at a cost of approximately 70 million euros.
In addition, several investment opportunities were prepared in the field of utilizing agricultural waste to produce oils from prickly pear seeds and produce amorphous silica from rice straw.
The meeting also reviewed mechanisms for producing unconventional feed from agricultural waste. The two ministers, along with officials from the sector who participated in the meeting, agreed on the need to complete a technical and economic feasibility study for investment opportunities in the production of non-traditional feed from agricultural waste.
This study will be conducted with the assistance of a number of experts in the field of agriculture and animal production at the National Research Center and a specialized consulting firm. The study will then be discussed with stakeholders, government agencies, experts, and feed manufacturers to ensure maximum benefit and achieve the state’s future vision of expanding feed production from agricultural waste.
Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk said: “Agricultural residues in Egypt is a resource that must be exploited and not wasted. This could contribute to reducing the cost of importing feed from abroad.”
Egypt suffers from a high feed import bill, especially in light of difficulties in securing foreign currency and the increasing rate of external debt.
Utilizing rice straw
Minister of Environment Dr. Yasmine Fouad explained that the state is making significant efforts to maximize the use of agricultural residues in Egypt. These include: legislative and regulatory development, starting with the enactment of Waste Management Regulation Law No. 202 of 2020 and its executive regulations, the issuance of the National Strategy for Agricultural Residues in 2019, and the preparation of an executive plan to implement this strategy, linking it to a map for the distribution of agricultural waste across the governorates.
These also include the issuance of a feed-in tariff for electricity generation from waste, in addition to the implementation of seminars and awareness-raising activities on the importance of utilizing various types of agricultural residues and the health and environmental risks associated with their burning and unsafe disposal.
The Minister cited an example of this, which she described as a “remarkable success story,” in the field of rice straw.
She added that several relevant government agencies are participating in the rice straw waste management system, and the rate of compaction and collection has reached 90%, providing significant investment opportunities.
She said: “The design of the system aims to create an effective market for rice straw by supporting contractors with equipment to collect and compact rice straw produced in the governorates.”
Years ago, farmers in Egypt were burning rice straw to dispose of it, causing massive emissions and creating a so-called “black cloud” in the sky during the straw-burning season, which causes respiratory distress for residents across the country.
The Minister of Agriculture called for leveraging the rice straw experience by expanding the scope of cooperation to include the residues and waste of all agricultural crops, livestock, and poultry. This will contribute to protecting the environment from pollution, preserving citizens’ health, achieving economic returns for farmers and breeders, and creating job opportunities.
The Ministry of Environment also sought to expand the production of bioenergy (biogas) by implementing 1,921 household and medium-sized units, with an annual biogas capacity of 2.152 million cubic meters, equivalent to approximately 86,000 butane gas cylinders. These units process 53.8 tons of biowaste and produce approximately 50,000 tons of organic fertilizer.