Wahba: The farmer is the cornerstone of the return of cotton cultivation, and he refrained from it because there was no economic feasibility for it
Representative Ihab Wahba, head of the parliamentary body of the Republican People’s Party in the Senate, said that the farmer is the cornerstone for the return of cotton cultivation, asking: “Why did the farmer stop growing cotton?”, adding that it is no longer economically viable for the farmer, but that much of crops have become more profitable for the farmer.
Wahba explained, during his speech at the plenary session today, while discussing the report of the joint committee from the Agriculture and Irrigation Committee and the Office of the Financial, Economic Affairs and Investment Committee regarding: "Egyptian cotton cultivation… challenges and incentives To improve the investment climate, purchasing cotton from farmers definitively without regard to the grade or its adhesiveness leads to an increase in pollutants in the cotton and a decrease in its rank.
The head of the Republican People’s Parliament in the Senate indicated that the importance of cotton cultivation comes from the fact that it is one of the lowest crops. It is also suitable for cultivation in saline and weak lands and the ends of canals, in addition to working to improve the properties of clay soil.
Wahba explained that Egyptian cotton is characterized by its superior quality, which gave it a competitive ability among other cottons in the world, and it is Manufacturing the most luxurious clothes and furnishings from Egyptian cotton. These products are characterized by high durability, endurance and sustainability for a long period compared to any products made from other cottons. He added that it is spun on a thin thread with high durability and can only be achieved with soft bristles because the thread contains a larger number of bristles compared to thick bristles.
Wahba mentioned that Egyptian cotton marketing systems began with the cooperative cotton marketing system. At that time, the state was responsible for collecting and marketing all the cotton grown by farmers, and there were no cotton trading companies before 1994. This system relied on collecting cotton from Farmers in collection centers, which have spread to all cotton cultivation centers and agricultural clusters, so that collection centers are opened in every village or group of neighboring villages, and cotton is purchased from farmers by the state, where an advance price is paid upon weighing, and after sorting and arbitration, then the rest of the price is paid according to rank, and this system was in effect for a long time, and this period was considered the golden age.
He continued: “The cooperative marketing system for cotton was canceled and the free trade law was implemented from 1/7/1994 until today, when a committee was established Regulating the domestic cotton trade after the issuance of Law No. 10 of 1994 (the Free Trade Law) in order to liberalize and regulate the cotton trade, according to which the cooperative marketing system was abolished and the regulation of the cotton trade was assigned to the committee.”
He continued: “From here, purchasing Cotton was purchased from farmers outright without regard to the grade or its adhesiveness, which led to an increase in pollutants in the cotton and a lowering of its grade. The process of trading and marketing cotton faced many problems and obstacles, which in general led to damage to the reputation of Egyptian cotton in global markets as a result of mixing problems and low grade. Cotton and the increase in pollution as a result of the farmer’s lack of interest in improved harvesting and the spread of contamination of cotton with polypropylene and sisal threads.
Wahba stated that with regard to the new cotton marketing system, which was issued by Ministerial Resolution No. 793 of 2019 regarding the blossom cotton trading system, it was It has been implemented in many governorates, but it has not been circulated in all governorates, so we ask the government: "What plan will it follow to return the farmer to growing cotton?".
