Analytical Study of the Food Security Position of the most Important Groups and Food Commodities in Egypt

The issue of food in Egypt is one of the most important objectives of the strategy of economic and social development until 2030. This should be focused on the many reasons and challenges facing this sector, the most important of which is the increase in population and the increase in food demand, under the limited available agricultural resources as land and water. It has been noticed recently that the percentage of self-sufficiency has declined, especially for the group of essential food commodities such as cereals, including wheat, maize, legumes, vegetable oils and sugar, which leads to increased reliance on imports to meet most of the food needs.
The study examined the current and future status of production capacities, consumer capacities and self-sufficiency ratios of the most important food commodities and their implications for achieving food security in Egypt. The research in the statistical analysis relied on the T-Test to compare the differences between the two study periods (2000-2006) (2007- 2014).
Based on the research results, showed that there were significant differences in total production between the two periods in wheat, legumes, fruits and sugar. This due to an increase in cultivated area or the use of biotechnological methods, such as high-yielding new varieties. As for the cultivated area, it was noticed that there were significant differences between the periods in cereals, wheat, legumes and fruits. This may be due to the negative impact of the cultivated area on the agricultural land, or the expansion of agriculture in the new lands. On the productivity, it was observed that the differences between the two periods were not significant in all commodities, except for vegetable crops, due to different varieties cultivated.
The decrease in the period of production adequacy for domestic consumption and the increase in the period of coverage of imports for domestic consumption is a negative indicator of the self-sufficiency rate in cereals, wheat, legumes, oils and sugar. In addition, Egypt has adopted its food security on imports. While the increase in the period of production adequacy and the decrease or stability of the period of coverage of imports for domestic consumption is a positive indicator of the self-sufficiency rate in maize, rice, vegetables and fruit. So the Country depends on local production to achieve self-sufficiency or stability at the same level.

Therefore, the study recommends that the importance of expanding the cultivation of cereals, legumes and oil crops by growing high productivity varieties and increasing the extension role, as well as reducing the prices of wheat and rice seeds in light of the high prices of production inputs and the preservation of agricultural land from infringement. By enforcing strict laws that criminalize encroachment on agricultural land by building on it. Finally, the implementation of the agricultural cycle, it is not possible under the rising of food prices and limited land and water resources to leave agricultural producers, especially the biggest ones produce what they like.