Egypt's wheat harvest reaches 11 million tonnes as farmland grows to 10.5 million feddans
Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk told the Senate that researchers have developed 77 new field-crop varieties and 51 vegetable varieties.
Cairo — Egypt produced 11 million tonnes of wheat in 2026, Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk told the Senate as he presented his ministry's food security strategy.
The country's farmland has expanded to 10.5 million feddans, he said, and the total cropped area, counting fields harvested more than once a year, has reached 17.5 million feddans.
More wheat, better seeds
The area planted with wheat rose to 3.7 million feddans this year, with average yields of 20 ardebs per feddan. To encourage farmers, the government raised the price it pays for wheat to EGP 2,500 per ardeb.
Researchers have developed 77 new varieties of field crops and 51 of vegetables. Sugar beet output reached 17 million tonnes and potatoes 10 million tonnes.
The strategy rests on five pillars, Farouk said: expanding cultivated land, raising yields with improved seed, developing livestock, poultry and fisheries, making farm exports more competitive, and modernising extension services with digital tools.
Fertiliser support
Fertiliser subsidies exceeded EGP 35 billion this year. Farmers pay about EGP 4,500 a tonne, a price unchanged for more than three years, compared with a global price of $450 to $500 a tonne. The number of electronic farmer cards used to collect subsidised fertiliser has risen to 4.4 million.
Source: Daily News Egypt, 10 November 2026.
