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| Egypt | |
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   bb-egypt-017.jpg "Nubarea" is located on a half way between Cairo and Alexandria. Ten years ago this road was called "the desert road ", today it is a highway and both sides, farms of cotton., olive trees, fruits, all growing in sand. The Nubarea region goes as far as 50 km from highway! -various government programs to improve farming techniques and test crops for farming in the desert, education and scientific programs are held in Nubarea region. ( government project for desert settlement is giving 2.5ha of desert with a small house to everybody who finished education in agriculture , is under 36 year old, with family and without job. First years project guaranties all expert advice and financial monthly support (16US $). 45 000 people are now farming under 11 years running project.) - the basic and common to all these programs is to inhabit a population which would potentially stay here as farmers. -Ahmed Radvan Ahmed (melon’s field) is a peasant in the desert. He worked for 10 years in Saudi Arabia where he saved enough money to buy his half a million m2 of sand of the desert land. His crop of melons this year will alow him to expand. He is one of the many farmers starting to farm in the desert on a private initiative... ”I was looking for a piece of desert which would be fertile without bringing water from canal systems for a long tome. With little knowledge and some compost one can grow here whatever he wants - BUT YOU NEED WATER AND A ROAD. On this spot I could see some green growing and I was sure that water was near... I bought this land for very cheap and with three days of drilling I had water... After washing sand from salt...and giving some fertilizers back ...it grows so quickly. My melons are ripe two weeks before than those in the Valley - and the price is higher on the market... It is because here it is warmer some weeks before than in the delta. If you are quicker than the others, you can earn a lot otherwise you hardly pay for your costs... I have only 14 days of time. If I succeed, I will buy more land and make California out of Sahara...” |
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