University Guids Desert Settlers On Finance, Farming

Each year, the Desert Development Center’s (DDC) hosts 1,000 desert settlers -- many of whom have no prior agricultural experience -- in a series of courses that expose them to the major issues involved in developing sustainable farms and farming systems on their newly reclaimed land.

As part of the one-week training program, trainees are given a broad and general introduction to sustainable desert farming. Through lectures and participant observation, the new desert settlers gain a basic grounding in topics such as irrigation operations, animal husbandry in the desert, vegetable farming in arid lands, field crops, agricultural machinery, dairy production, and small-scale enterprises such as home poultry, rabbit raising, beekeeping, cheese making, and even medicinal and ornamental plant production. Trainees are also given demonstrations and lectures on renewable energy use and environmentally appropriate house construction and maintenance.

“Developing Egypt’s desert areas offers one potential solution to problems of rural unemployment, urban overcrowding, export growth, and food security – if pursued in a sustainable fashion,” said DDC director Richard Tutweiler. “Egypt's success in expanding desert development programs while accelerating their effectiveness largely depends on its ability to produce substantial numbers of people who command basic sustainable desert farming skills and technology.”

The settlers are trained at the DDC’s South Tahrir station, 150km northwest of Cairo, which features the oldest experimental forest in the Egyptian desert, sustainable buildings suited for the desert, multiple methods of irrigation, orchards, and animal husbandry units. The station’s research center creates a unique environment for practical learning through its lecture hall, classrooms, computer lab, dining facilities, and four dormitory buildings.

“These courses have allowed us to establish and maintain relationships with scores of new desert communities,” said Tutweiler. “These relationships constitute an invaluable resource for pursuing research in sustainable desert development and economic farm management.”

The DDC was established in 1979 as a center of excellence in applied research and training to promote sustainable development in Egypt’s reclaimed desert areas. Since formal training programs first started in 1986, over 10,500 trainees have attended courses and study programs at the DDC.

By American University of Cairo