Egyptian youth still dream of owning and cultivating land even though agriculture is no longer considered a profitable economic activity. Is it the river’s genes that have prompted Muhammad Timni, who comes from Ismailia Governorate, to clutch to his dream?

When he earned his high school degree, Timni hoped to study agriculture even though his scores would have allowed him to go to other colleges that represent the ambitions of his generation; in fields like engineering.

Egyptian youth still dream of owning and cultivating land even though agriculture is no longer considered a profitable economic activity. Is it the river’s genes that have prompted Muhammad Timni, who comes from Ismailia Governorate, to clutch to his dream?

When he earned his high school degree, Timni hoped to study agriculture even though his scores would have allowed him to go to other colleges that represent the ambitions of his generation; in fields like engineering.

He became an agronomist and hoped to cultivate an aread of land near the Suez Canal area and establish a house and a farm , a dream remniscent the old Nasserist imagination in a song often played  on the radio during the 1960s: “Engineers are coming… engineers are coming… O’ desert! Engineers are coming!”

However, like his middle brother who was a top pharmacology student, Timni ended up working at a pharmacy to increase his income, as well as a security agent at the faculty where he studied.  His journey to reach his goal was a long one.

For businessmen only

Timni spent his four years of study among factories, lands and fisheries, looking forward to his graduation day when he would be entitled to own a land parcel, as advertised by the state.  “All the solutions to the crisis in Egypt,” the ads say, “start with increasing agricultural areas.” But Timni says: “It seems that increasing agricultural lands as desired by the state means only to increase the area of golf courses, which it grants to major investors.”

After a year of graduation and of vainly knocking on the doors of the agencies that distribute land, Timni setled for working in an agricultural production company, east of Suez Canal, for four years, during which time he kept re-visiting the agencies that distribute land.

At his job, Timni recognised the “game,” as he calls it: “The state provides the Land Distribution and Reclamation Company, which distributes lands in Ismailia Governorate, with all services including water, electricity and infrastructure. The company is owned by a previous leadership of a government body; all its lands are owned by senior businessmen of the former regime. The state refuses to give land to graduates like me on the pretext of lack of seriousness, and even if I was lucky or being favored and was given land, it would often lack all the capacities available to senior businessmen.”

Unlevel playing fields

Timni continued working at the agricultural production company, hopin to get closer to his dream. Because his work was temporary and uninsured and offere him no opportunity to save a penny from it,  he applied for the security agent job at his faculty. Requiring only a preparatory school degree, this new job would provide him with health insurance and pension.

At the Agriculture Directorate, officials denounced Timni’s questions regarding new posters about selling lands. An official advised him to go to the Ismailia Governorate Office, and there he also reached a dead end, and finally went to the Reconstruction Authority. “Those three agencies are responsible for the distribution of lands and they may suddenly placard a poster,” said Timni.

At the Reconstruction Authority, Timni saluted ‘Mr. Harbi’ – a worker who regularly meets Timni – who pointed out to a poster placarded at the Authority façade, about an auction to sell lands.

Timni read the poster then said: “As you can see, a new auction to sell land is going to be held one month from now. It requires a financial guarantee I don’t have, and as usual, the land will be big, so certainly neither I nor any graduate youth are able to buy them.”

“On auction day, the land mafia sharks will show up with their powerful financial strength,” he continued.  “Thoes are companies that can spend huge amounts of money and have connections with the state and facilitate pricing the land and equip them with facilities. My dream of five acres and a rural house is lost in the midst of this drama.”

The straw of a dream

“I don’t know what cooperatives are; people like me, no matter how numerous, will remain nil,” Timni said, explaining that the principles of transparency and competition are absent.

The reclamation of land with the size required by cooperatives requires huge investments, and given the poor and slow yield of agriculture and that agriculture is useful only in large areas with profitable commercial crops, it might be that Timni’s five acres and a house will remain a mere mirage. “The only hope for me and my 3-year old son, Iyad, is to clutch at the straw of land; otherwise, I’ll have to succumb to the stressful guard shifts.”