The economics of rice production in light of the current changes (a case study in Dakahlia Governorate)

Rice occupies a leading position in the list of necessary food crops, on which the majority of the Egyptian people in general depend for their food. This crop still achieves a surplus that is directed to export after meeting the requirements of domestic consumption. However, it has taken a decreasing trend in recent years. It faces many internal and external economic variables that It affects the extent to which food security policy is achieved. Although there is self-sufficiency in this crop, the percentage of self-sufficiency in it has decreased, as the cultivated area of the rice crop decreased from about 1569 thousand acres in 2000 to about 1005 thousand acres in 2022, and thus production decreased from about 6001 thousand tons in 2000 to About 3646.7 thousand tons in 2022. The development of the cultivated area for the rice crop in Dakahlia Governorate, and in light of the same growth rates of domestic consumption (due to the increase in demand as a result of the increasing population). The growth rate of the national consumption of rice increased annually. As for the annual average of acre productivity that can achieve self-sufficiency in rice in light of determining its cultivated area at about 500 thousand acres, it amounts to about 4.1 tons per acre as an average during the study period.