Egypt

IFAD Asset Request Portlet

Country

Egypt

14

Projects Includes planned, ongoing and closed projects

US$ 1,111.66 million

Total Project Cost

US$ 519.28 million

Total IFAD financing

1,350,366

Households impacted

The Context

Egypt is the third most populous country in Africa, with 99. 2 million people (CAPMAS 2019) concentrated in a ribbon stretching 1,000 km from north to south along the Nile Valley. An uprising in 2011 was followed by political instability, and more recently some economic liberalization and pro-poor initiatives.

The present government, sworn-in in 2014, initiated a series of reforms to spur the economy Egypt’s economic growth has been healthy, averaging 5.3 percent in FY2017/18, driven by an expansion in the gas extractives, tourism, manufacturing, construction and ICT sectors.

Agriculture is a key sector in the Egyptian economy, providing livelihoods for 57 per cent of the population and directly employing about 26 per cent of the labour force. Though its share of gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen to about 11 per cent, farming is a vital source of exports and foreign exchange accounting for 20 per cent of export revenue.

Yet the unemployment rate reached 11.4 per cent in 2018, while youth unemployment increased to 32.5 per cent compared to 24.4 per cent in 2010. Poverty has fallen from 40.5 per cent in 2004 to 28 per cent in 2015, before rising to 32.5 per cent in 2019 (CAPMAS) and remains a major challenge, especially in rural Upper Egypt, where poverty rates are more than 60 per cent.

Attempts to alleviate poverty must involve women and youth and reflect the diversity of income sources. In 2015, the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS) launched the “Takaful and Karama” (solidarity and dignity) scheme targeting the poor and most vulnerable, children under 18 years, elderly poor above 65 years and disabled persons. The scheme transfers cash to the eligible families to subsidize costs of children's education, mothers and children health care, healthy nutrition and family planning.

The Strategy

In Egypt, IFAD loans support settlement of land reclaimed from the desert in Lower (Northern) Egypt and support for productivity improvements in the old lands in the Nile valley and Upper Egypt.

Our Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) in the country contributes to the reduction of rural poverty and the enhancement of national food security.

In its efforts to help reduce poverty, IFAD seeks to enable more sustainable use of natural resources; promote climate-smart strategies; and leverage opportunities provided by the expanding private sector involvement in agriculture.

Key activities include:

  • strengthening the technical skills and organizational capacity of poor rural men and women to take advantage of rural on- and off-farm economic opportunities;
  • enhancing pro-poor sustainable use of natural resources, especially land and water; and
  • improving the access of poor rural farmers to better quality services, for example to technology, finance and markets.

In addition to projects and programmes, Egypt has also benefited from a number of regional grants focused on soil and water management, taking gender into account in public policy development, building knowledge-sharing networks, and promotion of microfinance for poor rural people.

Country Facts

Agriculture sector is a key sector in the Egyptian economy, providing livelihoods for 57 per cent of the population and directly employing about 26 per cent of the labour force.

Egypt is IFAD’s largest recipient of financial assistance in the Near East and North Africa, and was one of the first countries in the world to receive IFAD financing.

Country documents

Related Assets

Arab Republic of Egypt Country Strategic Opportunities Programme 2019-2024 Type: Regional and country document, Country Strategic Opportunities Programme
Region: Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia

Country Experts

Projects and Programmes

Projects Browser

Related news

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IFAD opens regional office in Egypt, providing rural development support to seven countries in the region

October 2019 - NEWS
IFAD opened a regional office in Cairo today that will serve as a strategic rural development center for its work to reduce poverty, empower women and youth, and create employment opportunities in seven countries across the region.

Egypt and IFAD strengthen partnership to reduce rural poverty and promote resilience in desert environments

October 2019 - NEWS
The President of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gilbert F. Houngbo, will meet with H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, during a four-day visit to the country from 6 to 9 October to discuss IFAD’s ongoing investments and to pave the way for a strengthened partnership towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

IFAD and Egypt to promote resilience in desert environments with a US$81 million investment

February 2019 - NEWS
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Egypt signed a financing agreement today to reduce poverty and enhance food and nutrition security by sustainably improving incomes and resilient livelihoods for 450,000 rural people in the Matrouh Governorate.

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Rising sea levels threaten Egypt's fertile plains in the Nile Delta

December 2022 - STORY
The Nile Delta is the breadbasket of Egypt, but climate change threatens agriculture here. IFAD is working to protect the land and improve the quality of previously infertile land. Sabrina Dhowre Elba, IFAD colleagues, and project coordinators and participants describe how this is changing people’s lives.

Water brings life to rural people

October 2022 - STORY
Irrigation brings water to the world's poorest rural people in the right quantities and when they need it, helping farmers adapt to climate pattern shifts.

Opportunities, challenges and limitations of climate-smart agriculture - The case of Egypt

June 2019 - STORY
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) aims to facilitate the evolution of agricultural systems in the face of a rapidly changing climate. IFAD's approach to promoting CSA for smallholders focuses on three core objectives.

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Climate-smart agriculture: A synthesis of experiences and lessons from the NEN region

December 2022
This publication describes Climate-smart agriculture case studies in Egypt, Georgia, Moldova and Somalia.

Research Series 81: Food and water systems in semi-arid regions – case study: Egypt

June 2022
This paper explores the role of water in Egypt’s food system and the dilemma the country faces: raise food self-sufficiency by allocating freshwater resources from the Nile to food production, or rely on food imports from water-abundant regions worldwide.

Investing in rural people in Egypt

October 2021
IFAD country programme in Egypt is the largest in the Near East and North Africa. In total, IFAD has invested in 14 agricultural development projects and programmes for a total Cost of US$ 1.1 billion, with IFAD direct financing of US$ 519.28 million benefitting around 7 million people.

Scaling up note: Egypt

December 2015
Egypt has undergone dramatic political upheaval over the last four years, following long-simmering grievances over the lack of economic opportunities and political inclusion that led to a revolutionary uprising in early 2011.

ASAP Egypt factsheet

August 2015
The SAIL programme has several components: i) community and livelihood development, ii) agriculture development and diversification, and iii) rural financial services. The community development activities will focus on the ''new lands'' that have been settled by smallholder farmers. Community development associations will be strengthened so that they can allow for the inclusion of women and youth. The project will also provide buildings and financing for schools, health clinics, community centres and clean water infrastructure.

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