Policies for the Future of Farming and Food in Egypt (2026)

About the review

Policies for the Future of Farming and Food in Egypt is an OECD Agriculture and Food Policy Review that assesses the performance of Egypt’s agriculture and food policies. It applies the OECD Productivity, Sustainability and Resilience Framework and, for the first time, produces government-support estimates for Egypt developed by the OECD across 54 countries.

Country context

Agriculture is a strategic sector, accounting for 14% of GDP and about one-fifth of employment. Egypt’s population stood at 116.5 million in 2024 and is projected to reach 160 million by 2050, while the country remains one of the world’s largest wheat importers and highly reliant on supplies from Russia and Ukraine.

Key findings

The report identifies a “double burden of malnutrition”: roughly one-third of the population faces undernourishment even as the country records some of the highest rates of overweight and obesity. Policy has focused heavily on food availability — self-sufficiency targets, guaranteed minimum prices and large-scale procurement — while a bread subsidy and ration-card programme benefits about two-thirds of the population at an average cost of 1.4% of GDP per year.

Recommendations

Improving food security and sustainability will require stronger co-ordination of food-systems policies, reducing the economic burden of agricultural support, reforming the food-subsidy system, and developing policies to cut water demand and fertiliser use. The review underscores that productivity has not kept pace with population growth.

Original link: https://oecd.org/en/publications/policies-for-the-future-of-farming-and-food-in-egypt_cab0cefd-en.html