Egypt Launches £12bn Desert Farming Mega-Project To Boost Food Security

Egypt has unveiled an ambitious £12 billion agricultural development project aimed at transforming vast areas of desert into productive farmland as the country intensifies efforts to strengthen food security and reduce reliance on imports.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi officially launched the New Delta agriculture project during the 2026 wheat harvest on newly cultivated land west of the Nile Delta. The initiative is being described by Egyptian officials as the country’s largest land reclamation effort to date.

Once fully completed, the project is expected to reclaim around 2.2 million feddans of desert land — equivalent to approximately 9,000 square kilometres — increasing Egypt’s cultivated agricultural area by almost 15%.

The development will focus on strategic crops including wheat and maize, alongside vegetables and export-focused produce such as olives and figs. Egyptian authorities believe the expansion will help cut the nation’s significant food import bill while supporting long-term economic resilience.

According to President el-Sisi, around 800 billion Egyptian pounds — approximately £12 billion — has already been invested into the project. Funding has supported extensive infrastructure development including grain silos, industrial zones, transport links and irrigation systems connecting reclaimed desert areas with the Nile Valley and key ports.

A major component of the project centres on water management and irrigation technology. Egypt’s Water Resources Ministry said agricultural drainage water from the western Nile Delta is treated at the El Hammam treatment facility on the Mediterranean coast before being transported through a 170-kilometre canal system supported by 13 pumping stations.

Officials say the system can process up to 7.5 million cubic metres of water daily to irrigate desert farmland, although the project’s heavy energy demands and long-term sustainability have prompted debate among environmental and economic analysts.

The New Delta initiative forms part of Egypt’s wider strategy to address increasing food security pressures linked to population growth, climate pressures and global supply chain disruption following events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.