{"id":4607,"date":"2020-03-31T14:10:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T14:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/?p=4607"},"modified":"2020-03-31T15:53:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T15:53:21","slug":"in-the-land-of-the-pharaohs-can-faba-be-king-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/2020\/03\/31\/in-the-land-of-the-pharaohs-can-faba-be-king-again\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Land of the Pharaohs, Can Faba Be King Again?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>March 31, 2020<\/p>\n<p>Louise Sarant - Independent Food Security Consultant<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4608 size-full alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-Sarant-e1585662780781.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Photo taken by Watter\u00a0Al Bahry<\/p>\n<p><em>Three decades ago, Egypt\u2019s Faba bean domestic production suddenly plummeted. A combination of political decisions and environmental changes shattered Egypt\u2019s self-sufficiency in the crop, resulting in today\u2019s heavy reliance on imports. This blog post explores the systemic factors that have contributed to the demise of Egypt\u2019s most prized legume \u2013 and makes a case for reinvigorating Faba production along the Nile. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>If Egypt\u2019s food culture were symbolized by a single crop, it might well be the Faba bean. Cultivated on the banks of the Nile for millennia, Faba beans (also known as fava, f\u016bl and broad beans, and <em>Vicia Faba<\/em>) have been a mainstay of the Egyptian diet since the time of the pharaohs. It\u2019s a staple at breakfast, where the smallish, dark brown protein-packed bean is consumed as a stew (<em>f\u016bl medames<\/em>). It\u2019s eaten as a fried, falafel-like patty (<em>taameyya),<\/em> a pur\u00e9e (<em>bessara<\/em>), or fresh as a snack. Such is the legume\u2019s popularity among Egyptians of all classes that they consume an average of 6.3 kilograms per capita per year (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/311316466_Solution_for_Faba_Bean_Production-Consumption_Gap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ouda, 2017<\/a>), the most in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Until recently, Egyptian farmers cultivated enough Faba to satisfy domestic demand \u2013 while also deploying it as an essential cog in their crop rotation systems. Faba beans can fix between 150 and 300 kilograms of atmospheric nitrogen per year into every hectare of soil <a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/3709487\/1.22_GAP_Non_monetary_way_to_manage_faba_bean_diseases_A_Review\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Singh and Umrao, 2013<\/a>), thereby enriching the land with vital nutrients and naturally boosting the following cereal crop\u2019s harvest.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/base.d-p-h.info\/en\/fiches\/dph\/fiche-dph-6922.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">But starting in 1987<\/a>, things began to change: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fao.org\/3\/Y4632E\/y4632e0c.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the economic reform<\/a> and liberalization of the Egyptian agricultural sector discontinued the mandatory state-controlled crop rotation system, of which Faba bean had been a core component. This, combined with state subsidies on nitrogen fertilizers, considerably reduced the appeal of f\u016bl, prompting many farmers to turn to chemically-enhanced and more commercially viable crops.<\/p>\n<p>Then, between 1991 and 1993, Faba production suffered its biggest blow yet. Over two successive growing seasons, the aphid-transmitted <em>Faba Beans Necrotic Yellows Virus<\/em> (FBNYV) wiped out 50,000 hectares of Faba beans, about a third of Egypt\u2019s total Faba bean cropped area, and soured many farmers on it once and for all. Many Upper Egyptians farmers were already battling <em>Orobanche <\/em>infestations, a root parasitic weed that sucks in the host plant\u2019s nutrients, and FBNYV merely confirmed the crop\u2019s riskiness in their eyes. In an agrarian context in which 80% of all farmland is composed of holdings of 3 feddans or less, crop choice can be a matter of survival. Few farmers can absorb and rebound from crop failure. Faba bean acreage has since shrunk from 178,531 hectares in 1991 to 32,532 hectares in 2017 (FAOSTAT).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4612 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-1-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1196\" height=\"511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-1-1.png 1196w, https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-1-1-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-1-1-768x328.png 768w, https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-1-1-1024x438.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1196px) 100vw, 1196px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Evolution of local production and imports of Faba beans, 2005-2017. Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, FAOSTAT (Annex 1)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Since the mid-1990s, Egypt has relied on imports from Australia, Lithuania, Latvia and the UK to ensure a steady supply of the bean. Between 2005 and 2017, Egypt shipped in 328,000 tons of Faba beans a year on average, at an annual cost of roughly USD 200 millions. To this day, Egypt remains the world\u2019s largest importer of Faba bean, devouring over 50% of global exports, which accounts for about 70% of Egypt\u2019s consumption.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4613 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-2-1-300x220.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-2-1-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-2-1.png 680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Top 10 country importers by import value of Broad Beans, 2017. Source: FAOSTAT<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Mindful of the challenges of plant diseases, pest invasions, soaring temperatures, increased salinity, and low crop yields, scientists at Egypt\u2019s Agricultural Research Center (ARC) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) have been working on improved and resistant Faba bean varieties since the mid-1990s. But these varieties haven\u2019t been widely adopted, as most farmers are simply not aware they exist. Dwindling public funds for agricultural R&amp;D over the last decades have resulted in fewer extension services, and in the discontinuation of farmer field days and schools. Those were the two main conduits through which research outcomes were exhibited and brought to farmers.<\/p>\n<p>Reinvigorating Egypt\u2019s Faba production would be no small task. The ARC estimates that in order to become self-sufficient again, Egypt needs to cultivate 320,000 feddans (135,000 hectares) of Faba beans, which would add up to approximately 668,000 tons by 2030, if consumption and population growth forecasts hold (Abdelrahman, 2019).<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few arguments in favor of reintroducing large-scale Faba bean production in Egypt:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In addition to saving over USD 200 millions on imports every year, the natural nitrogen fixation of Faba beans could reduce the reliance on subsidized nitrogen fertilizers for wheat production, which costs the government EGP 2.5 billions a year (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/ifpri\/atef-sweed-aswan-uni-2019-ifpri-egypt-seminar-fertilizer-policy-in-egypt-and-options-for-improvements\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sweed, 2019<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li>There could be a positive tradeoff between the subsidies on Nitrogen fertilizers, which increase greenhouse gas emissions, and subsidies on the Faba bean, which is a <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1111\/1541-4337.12146\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">climate-smart crop with excellent nutritional outcomes<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Reintroducing a system of crop rotation, in which legumes play an important part, could be very beneficial for Egypt\u2019s soil, crop yield and farmers\u2019 nutrition. Cooperatives could be well placed to oversee this new crop rotation system and reestablish trust among farming communities.<\/li>\n<li>Egypt could also consider emulating India, which imposes tariff barriers on legume imports during domestic harvest time to protect local farmers\u2019 production.<\/li>\n<li>The share of public investment in agriculture, which is currently at 2 percent of the GDP, should increase in order to boost innovation, research and development, technology transfer, and revitalize advisory services for farmers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4614 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-3-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1090\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-3-1.png 1090w, https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-3-1-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-3-1-768x388.png 768w, https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/files\/2020\/03\/Louise-3-1-1024x517.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1090px) 100vw, 1090px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Overview of Global Faba bean trade. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tridge.com\/intelligences\/broad-bean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tridge, 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Abdelrahman, R., Researcher at ARC\u2019s Field Crops Research Institute, Legume section. She provided this information during a presentation held at ICARDA\u2019s headquarters in September 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Multari S., Stewart D. and Russell W.R. (2015), <em>Potential of fava bean as future protein supply to partially replace meat intake in the human diet, <\/em>Wiley online library<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ouda S. et al. (2017), <em>Solution for Faba Bean Production-Consumption Gap<\/em>, (chapter) Future of Food Gaps in Egypt, Springer International Publishing<\/p>\n<p>Saber K. (2006), <em>Agrarian policy, legislation and violations of Human Rights in Egypt<\/em>, dph<\/p>\n<p>Singh A.K. and Umrao V.K. (2013), <em>Non monetary way to manage Faba bean diseases-A Review<\/em>, Meerit, HortFlora Research Spectrum<\/p>\n<p>Sweed A. (2019), <em>Fertilizer\u2019s system in Egypt<\/em>, Cairo, IFPRI Egypt Seminar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Louise Sarant - Independent Food Security Consultant<\/p>\n<p>Three decades ago, Egypt\u2019s Faba bean domestic production suddenly plummeted. A combination of political decisions and environmental changes shattered Egypt\u2019s self-sufficiency in the crop, resulting in today\u2019s heavy reliance on imports. This blog post explores the systemic factors that have contributed to the demise of [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":296,"featured_media":4619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[262],"tags":[576,723,846,382,272],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/296"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4607"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4622,"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4607\/revisions\/4622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}