SOCIETAL LIFE
Subsidies In Egypt, water and energy are heavily subsidized. In order to get access to water, farmers have to pay a fee to maintain the water pipes. Besides this fee, water is practically free of charge. According to the World Bank online database the energy price is kept artifically even lower as these subsidies constitute almost 5% of GDP. Both subsidies support the inefficient use of water and energy while it hides the efficiency advantages of biodynamic agriculture due to its better soil structure and the use of organic instead of chemical, energy-intensive fertilizers and pesticides. The subsidies, in combination with the problem to reclaim desert land, are serious threats for food security in Egypt. An increase of the area of arable land is prevented while conventional agriculture is artificially preferred to organic agriculture although only organic agriculture can provide enough food in the long-term (see “Resource efficiency of biodynamic agriculture”, page 54).
Others can be grown in Egypt, particularly the crops of staple food. Being dependent on importing, an increasing share of our food supplies also affects the Egyptian economy. While complete self-sufficiency cannot and should not be the aim due to market prices and climatic conditions, Egypt nonetheless has to retain current levels of self-sufficiency to prevent dependency on exchange rates and the volatile international food markets.
Helmy Abouleish in a fennel field at Minya farm
Public Policy Engagement and Networks “Agriculture has the potential to change the world’s climate problems within 12 years when shifting from a conventional to an organic system on a global scale.” (Helmy Abouleish) From the early beginning of the SEKEM Initiative, political involvement was a part of its existence. Today, SEKEM is actively contributing to political decisions and policies, raising awareness and enforcing the sustainable development on a national as well as international level. SEKEM participates in a variety of activities, always advocating sustainable development, with topics such as: sustainable agriculture and its effect on climate change, social entrepreneurship, research and innovation, responsible competitiveness, renewable energy and a national sustainable development strategy (more on page 30).
Trial field in Adleya farm
SEKEM Report on Sustainable Development 2010
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